THE JTflK 

OF OFTinun 



9 




Class P^ (o35 
Ronlc .79^ 1 
Copyright N° 

COPHflGHT DEPOSIT. 



©OLD 17302 



dhe 
Star of Optimism 



J? S)rama in Seven Jlcts 



B Y 



eCiston McMillen 

* A QENTLEfldN OF THE 3 A R * 



Let every one of us please his neighbor 
For his good unto edification " 



Entered according to Act of Congress by the Author, in the 
year 19^9, in the office of the Librarian at Washington, D. C. 
Copyright, 1909, A. D., by Liston McMillen. 



Dramatis Personae. 

The King and Queen of England. 

Rouseau, a pioneer in international evolution. 

In Constellation. 
[Senator, an able jurist and theologian. 
Mary the accomplished wife of the 
Senator. 
Irene, their brilliant daughter.] 
Dr. Raymond, in love with Irene. 
Vallmer, an able jurist and infidel. 
John and Julia, engaged. 
Mysterious Tramp. 
Dead Eye. 
Miscellaneous Characters. 

ACT I. 
[Scene: Apartment at the residence of the Sena- 
tor, in easy reach of Chicago; valley traversed by a 
river; bright full moon.] 

(Enter Senator and Mary, affectionately arm in 
arm.) 

Senator: 

My dear just think of it! No quarrel 
Yet, and we have been marriei nearly 
A month! 

Mary : 
Yes, our honeymoon will end this evening! 
Four weeks ago to-nightj we celebrated 
Our marriage. I am' pleased to see 
You remember the date! 

Senator: 

Four weeks ago to-night! How the time 
Has flown! 



Mary : 
It has been such a siweet, glad time, 
And so precious. And yet it must all 
End. See! The moon is setting never again 
To be a honeymoon to us! 

Senator: 
On the contrary, my dear, it seems to me, 
Our honeymoon has just begun! I love you 
More than ever before! 

Mary: 
Many happy moons or years, we will have — 
Deo Volente — as the moons come and go. 
But it is true, sadly true, that the first moon 
Of our wedded life and love is about 
To set forever! Honeymoon! Sweet, blissful 
Honeymoon! Good night! And good by! 

Senator: 
Hold, my dear! I have a thought that 
May have come from where matches are 
Ma do! 

Mary : 
I am all attention for your idea 
And its cheer! How can I forget 
Your many happy inspirations, in these days 
Of the voice of the bride, the voice 
Of the bridegroom, the voice of mirth 
And the voice of gladness? 

Senator: 
You remember the wonderful prophet that gave 
Command: "Sun be thou still upon Gibeon 
And thou moon in the Valley of Ajalon"? 
Mary : 
Yes. 
Senator: 
That great event and our mighty love 
Inspire me to command the moon to stand 



•3— 



Still, for one year! And so our honeymoon 
Will not end to-night! It has only begun; 
And will last a year! 

Mary: 
I see! And so you plan for twelve 
Moons in one! But suppose it should not stay 
Its course, because I am of little faith? 

Senator: 
Even then, my dear, the moon will not 
Go down in our hearts. For love is 
Greater than faith. 

Mary: 
The pathos, the humor, I see, and admire 
The admixture — the parable, such apt 
Illustration! Truly a word fitly spoken 
Is like pictures of silver in apples 
Of gold! 

Senator: 
How many happy thoughts we get, from 
The sacred record! "Sun be thou still upon 
Gibeon, and thou moon in the valley of 
Ajalon"! 

(Enter Vallmer.) 

Vallmer. 
Eloquent imagination, Senator! Sublimely so! 
But you do not believe the sun 
Stood still? Surely you do not believe 
That story? 

Senator: 
Why not? 

Vallmer: 
The sun already stood still, as related 
To the earth. Our planet, you know, revolves 
Around the sun, at the rate of a 
Thousand miles a minute; and on its 
Own axis, it distances the cannon ball! 



4— 



You certainly do not believe there was 
A wreck of matter and crash of worlds? 

Senator: 
No; I do not believe that Mars, 
Neptune and Uranus were thrown out of 
Gear; nor Jupiter; nor Saturn; nor any 
Other star for that matter. 

Vallmer: 
Hoiw science is dissolving those old wives' 
Fables! It is a good story though! 
The writer had a fine imagination! 
Very fine! 

Senator: 
But, my dear friend, I do not think 
It is a fable. The sun as I view the 
Record, seemed to be stayed, by reason 
Of the greater refraction of its rays, through 
Density of the air, miraculously increased; 
And under the law of faith; it was recorded 
According to the conception of the amazed 
Eye witnesses. 

Vallmer: 
Along some such line, I suppose, you 
Would account for the intervention of the 
Star of Bethlehem, without any disturbance of 
The astronomical equilibrium? 

Senator: 
Yes, methinks, that was simply optimism 
At iwork; or clothed in a luminosity 
Like that of a star. 

Vallmer. 
So. you believe all the stories in 
The Bible? 

Senator: 
Yes, I believe in some sense or other, 
They are all true. 

Vallmer. 
Not the flood-story? 

— 5— 



Senator: 

Yes. 

Vallmer. 

Daniel and the lions? 

Senator: 

Yes. 

Vallmer. 

The fish-story? 

Senator: 

Yes. 
Vallmer. 
One more test, Senator: The rib-story — 
You draiw the line there? Surely you 
Do not believe that tale? 

John and Julia (entering): 
We do. 
John: 
Of course we do! Here is my lost 
Item of anatomy! I have just found it! 
My name is written there! J-O-H-N! 

Mary (to Julia) : 
Why, Julia dear, when did this happen? 
This is the first I have heard of 
Your engagement! 

Julia (mirthfully): 
Just a few moments since. John has been 
A suitor, importunate, during the past year; 
But I could never gain the consent 
Of my mind. To-night, however, he claimed, 
If any such letters were there, they 
Were his; and of course, I had to go 
With the lost property! (All laugh.) 

Mary (to John) : 
I am afraid you were drawing upon 
Your imagination, when you thought you 
Found those letters. 



■6— 



John: 
Make examination for yourself. 

Mary: 
May be your prejudice or passion affects 
Your persusion. 

John: 
Well, they ought to be there, if they 
Are not there. 

Julia: 
Yes, they ought to be there! And I 
Have heard Mr. Vallmer say that, in law, 
Whatever ought to be is considered as being; 
And his fine judicial mind, is not 
To be denied. (All laugh.) (Exit Vallmer.) 

Senator: 
And so you twain have found the 
Crystal river. 

John and Julia? 
Where is the crystal river? 
Senator: 
Where true love is, there is the crystal river. 

All. 
Where true love is, there is the crystal river. 

Mary (to Julia) : 
Your love-story is very beautiful. Pray 
It may not end like a novel, 
Or a play. 

Julia: 
Why so? 
Mary: 
They all end with marriage. 

Senator: 
I would not heed the vagaries of 
The novelist or play-wright, my dear. The Bible 
Says: "Wives, love your husbands." 

Mary: 
It is not written so expressly. "Husbands love 
Your wives" is the way it is written. 



Senator: 
Why, as it seems to you, was no 
Express command given that iwife should love 
Husband? 

Mary: 
The wife does not need to be expressly 
Told to love her husband. God has seen 
To that by nature. The implication in the 
Divine word, is enough for her. 

Senator: 
I am glad to hear you say so 
My dear. Your mood caused me to fear 
Our honeymoon was drawing to a close. 

Mary: 
It was only under a cloud. I love 
Your romantic idea of twelve moons in 
One. 

Senator: 
And now, my dear, may I ask you 
To give your undivided attention for a 
Moment, to the corollary. 
Mary : 
To-wit: 
Senator: 
To woo! 
Mary: 
Namely! 
Senator: 
The wedding trip should last as long as 
The honeymoon. 

Julia: 

Do you hear that J-O-H-N? 

John: 

I hear it. 

(Exit John and Julia laughing.) 

Mary: 

Well, now, my dear, as we are tD have 



Such delightful trip, what shall be the 
Itinerary? I will go with you, wherever 
The spirit of romance may lead, whether 
Over the land or over the sea! 

Senator- 
Would it please you, my dear, to visit 
The Holy Land? 

Mary: 
Why the Holy Land? 

Senator: 
I would like to see the Valley of 
Ajalon. I want to stand on the identical 
Ground, where the prophet stood, when the moon 
Obeyed his strong command: "Sun be thou still 
Upon Gibeon, and thou moon in the valley of 
Ajalon"! 

Vallmer (entering): 
Poor deluded man! How men will hug 
Delusion! 

Julia (re-entering with John): 
The idea! That woman is an hallucination! 

John : 
Who said that? 
Julia: 
Mr. Vallmer seems to think so. 

John : 
If he had a girl he would not think 
So! I opine that woman is a good thing 
And iwedlock is a great proposition. 

Vallmer: 
My thought was misunderstood. And yet I 
Warn you gentlemen, you must not expect 
Too much of wife or sweetheart. Out of 
Sight,, out of mind, with woman! Except 
Present company! Every rule has its exception 
And the exception proves the rule! 

—9— 



Senator: 
Heaven pity you, dear friend! You have 
Lost faith, both in God and .woman. 

Mary: 
Were you never in love, Mr. Vallmer? 

Vallmer: 
Yes, once upon a time. 
Mary: 
Why did you not marry? 

Vallmer: 
I lost my heart, but not my head. 
A man must lose both his head 
And his heart to get married! 

(Exit John and Julia laughing.) 
Mary: 
In your bitterness toward woman, you 
Do not include your mother? 

Vallmer: 
I have no recollection of my mother. 
She died while I was in infancy. 

Senator: 
So. you grew up, without being trained 
In the nurture and admonition of 
Divinity? 

Vallmer: 
I iwas never under, even the amiable 
Superstition of Santa Claus. I have heard 
Of the laughter of a child, on its first 
Discovery of filled stockings, but never witnessed 
Such an incident. 

Senator: 
No recollection of any maternal care? 

Vallmer: 
None whatever. 

Senator: 
How much will be charged to environment 
In the final round up! 

—1-0— 



Vallmer: 
It is the business of man to conquer 
His surroundings. 

Senator: 
But in his early minority he is the creature 
Of circumstance. 

Vallmer: 
Well, Senator, I will be glad to take 
These questions up with you, when we 
Meet again. But I must bid you 
Good by now. I leave romance for Egypt. 
To-morrow 

Mary (smiling) : 
Curiosity, you know, is the name of woman. 

Vallmer: 
I am going to find rest in the 
Solitude of the Pyramids, and enjoy a 
Quiet visit with the Sphinx. It does not 
Vex you with questions about the future. 
It lets you do all the talking and all 
The thinking. 

Senator: 
Silence is vocal if we listen well 
To that monument of a civilization 
That flourished in the day, when the sun 
And the moon stood still and watched 
And wondered at its dying throes 
And meaning, in an optimistic universe. 

Vallmer: 
If the lips of the Sphinx shall move 
Or its eyes sparkle with life, I will believe 
In the supernatural; otherwise not. 

Senator: 
What, dear friend, would enable you to believe 
That Christ is risen and his eyes again 
Shone with life? 

—11— 



Vallmer: 

Nothing, but to see him raised from the dead 
Myself. 

Senator: 

Let me ask you as we part, to think 

Over the fact that that doctrine would require 

Him often to suffer. 

Vallmer: 
I cannot help the severity of my 
Position. I believe only what I see. 
If the Sphinx should speak or shed 
A tear for humanity, I will try and 
Meet you in the Holy Land and tell 
You about it. When do you start 
On your twelve moon wedding trip? 

Senator: 
I am in the hands of my wife. 

Mary: 
I will be ready without delay. 

Vallmer: 
Well success to both of you and a 
Happy voyage. But before iwe part, I 
Would greatly appreciate a song from 
A singer that has a voice so sweet 
That she never needs to be coaxed 
To sing. 

Mary (smiling.) 
What shall I sing? 

Vallmer: 
We will leave the selection to the Senator. 

Senator: 
Suppose you sing "The Thousand Million By-by" 
My dear. It has often hushed me to sleep 
And iwhen our friend is cradled in the sea, 
He may think of it, and the love that 
Turned the scale in my earliest recollections. 

— 12— 



Mary: (Sings) 
Mamma is rich, so very rich 
In a dear little boy! 
A thousand million dollars, — 
A thousand million dollars, — 
Could not buy 
Such joy as she finds 
In her dear little boy. 

Dear little heart, so very dear; 

Angels love mamma's boy! 

A thousand million angels, — 

A thousand million angels, — 

Sing a song 

Of the joy that she finds 

In her dear little boy. 

Close eyes so sweet, and go to sleep 

Mamma's dear little boy! 

A thousand million by-bys, — 

A thousand million by-bys, — 

By-o-by 

Dear Lord send, in his love 

To her dear little boy. 

Vallmer: 
Such an exquisite little song! Almost thou 
Persuadest me to be a Christian! 

Senator: 
First the blade, then the ear, then 
The full corn in the ear! If the 
Faith-life has begun in you, may an 
Overruling Optimism fertilize it, by the 
Decadence, abounding in the land of unbelief 
You are about to visit. A dividend 
Must finally be declared upon all the 
Works of Omniscience. It rests with us 
Whether iwe will be the full corn 
In the ear, or serve as fertilization 
In the field. 

—13— 



Vallmer: 
If I am abandoned to be fertilization 
At the root of the tree, the fruit 
Of the tree should not say to me 
I am holier than thou. 

Senator: 
If it is vouchsafed to me to be 
As fruit, in the divine vineyard, I 
Would not, and could not cast the 
First stone at any sinner. 

Vallmer: 
What was written in the dust or sand 
In that case? 

Senator: 
I do not know. 

Vallmer: 
What did that procedure mean? 

Senator: 
I am not sure that I know that. 

Vallmer: 
It is refreshing to find a religionist 
That does not know everything. 

Senator: 
We are all finite. 

Vallmer: 
Well, dear friends, farewell! or as they 
Say in France: Au revoir! 

Senator: 
We say both to you dear friend; 
Fare you well and au revoir! 
A thousand million by-bys, — 
By-o-by 

Dear Lord send, in his love 
To our dear — very dear friend! 

(Exit Vallmer.) 
Mary: 
Oh that we had the wisdom to win 



■14- 



That gifted soul to repentance! I iwonder 
If he will ever seek and find 
The living God? 

Senator: 
There is a terrible implication in the 
Text: "Seek ye the Lord, while he may 
Be found." 

Mary: 
But over against that implication is the text: 
"Him that cometh unto me, I will 
In no wise cast out." 

Senator: 
He may never come! The tree gets its 
Inclination from its nurture! How much! 
Oh, how much! I owe to my mother 
For the seed sown in tender years! 

(Stage Suddenly darkened.) 

Kinetoscopic Views: 

(1) Babe on its mothers breast. 

(2) A little child playing among flowers. 
(3). Sunday school filing from church. 

(4.) The beloved disciple John outrunning a co- 
disciple, on the morning of the resurrection of our Lord 
to verify the news. 



ACT II. 

[Scene: Train standing in field. The sun is two- 
thirds eclipsed by the moon. Senator, conductor and 
brakeman are standing by train.] 
Mary (Sings) 

I sing of a union — a twonderful union — 

Of a nation born in a day! 

Of a land and its throne — 

Its marvelous throne; 

And a river of peace — a pure crystal stream — 



■15- 



That flows o'er its hills and valleys 
Through the hearts of a dear blessed people, 

1 sing of a freedom — a wonderful freedom — 

Bought by the blood, shed by her sons! 

And the deeds of these men — 

Their valorous deeds; 

And liberty's cost — a pure precious stream — 

That reddened its hills and valleys, 

For a union beloved by the people. 

I sing of a peace — a wonderful peace — 

Of an age of peace, — forevermore! 

Of a land, just and true — 

Its victory great; 

Through Him that is risen — the Prince of the 

peace — 
The abounding peace, — in the land 
Teaming iwith the wealth of its people. 

I sing of a Father — an infinite Father, 

Of a people, garnered by him! 

To a land that he loved 

Enlightening the world! 

And a leader of kings — a teacher of peace, 

Through peace o'er its hills and valleys 

In a union beloved by its people. 

Senator (Advancing) 
See! my dear, the sun is eclipsed by 
The moon! They both seem to be standing 
Still; as though they had paused awhile — 
As in olden time — to listen to 
Your beautiful song of peace! 

Mary: 
They have the music of the spheres, and 
Methinks, a voice of clay can have but 
Little charm for them. 

—16— 



Senator: 
Voice of clay! I marvel at the great 
And iwonderful God that can make 
Such a voice as that out of clay! 

Mary: 
It may be that all music is akin 
Whether celestial or terrestial. We will view 
It so, if by faith and song we 
Can prolong our honeymoon and wedding 
Trip, a year! 

Senator. 
I have even a greater plan, my dear! 
In our journey around the iworld, let 
Us gain inspiration by which to stay 
The moon, until death shall intervene, 
And thus our honeymoon may last 
Till then! 

Mary: 
A lifetime honeymoon! You seem to be 
A quiver of surprises! 

Senator. 
If we can evolve a year of domestic 
Happiness from a mere satelite, surely the 
Earth can be depended upon to supply us 
Down to our golden wedding; as it is 
Eighty times larger than the moon, and 
Should do that much more for us. 

Mary: 
The pathos and the humor! You break 
My heart, and yet I laugh! 
But what makes it so dark? 

Senator. 
This is the instant of total eclipse. 

Mary: 
What romantic thing will happen next? It 
Suggests the fancy of the appearance of 
The moon to order at midday, 



■17- 



Swayed by your magic wand! 

(The train is suddenly lighted with electric lights.) 
(Enter Dead Eye and Comrade, coming down from 
train.) 

Dead Eye (to Comrade) 
I have an impression of disaster to 
This train! My dream was bad last night, 
And something tells me: "Woe is this 
Train!" And see! The sun is eclipsed 
By the moon! That bodes ill to this train! 
And the engine is killed! Strange 
Things cluster here and tread one 
Another's heels! 

Comrade. 
Imagination makes cowards of us all. 

Dead Eye 
But see that comet rising above yonder 
Horizon! What shall w r e say of its 
Appearance at this juncture? 

Comrade (to Senator) 
How iwould you opine in such a 
Case, dear sir? This ominous comet seems 
To pile perplexity upon the gloom of 
This premonition! 

Senator. 
We must beware of superstition, dear friends! 
Both science and revelation recognize that 
Dreams often come through a multitude 
Of cares; and mere coincidence is without 
Significance, in scientific research. 

Dead Eye: 
I believe in premonition, sir. 

Senator. 
We should certainly shun such an idea 
As worthy only of the dark ages! 

Dead Eye: 
I have heard the gentle tapping of 

—18— 



Something invisible; and seen slate writing; 
And been in trances! 

Senator. 
Holy Writ is all the slate-writing we need 
In the parable I sing. 

Dead Eye: 
There was writing on the wall, at 
One time! 

Senator. 
There is no need for the appearance 
Of that terrible hand in our day. The 
Bible is able to make us wise unto 
Salvation; and that is sufficient. Let 
Well enough alone is a good legal 
Maxim. It will save us from apparitions 
And foolish notions. 

Dead Eye: 
The Mormons had a new revelation. 

Senator. 
When congress spoke they came out 
With still another. 

Dead Eye: 
Mahomet received the Koran from heaven. 

Senator. 
A tree is known by its fruits. 

Dead Eye: 
Swedenborg got an inspired interpretation 
Of the bible. 

Senator. 
It is harder to understand Swedenborg 
Than it is the sacred writings, themselves. 

Dead Eye: 
Who then will interpret the bible for us? 

Senator: 
Interpret it for yourself, after getting 
All the light you can from good books, 
Your pastor and other able teachers. 

—19— 



Dead Eye: 
What is your objection, sir, to a special 
Warning from heaven? 

Senator. 
Under the law of faith, a dire premonition 
May bear fruit, though it lias no 
Foundation, other than the baseless fabric 
Of a dream. It is the disposition 
Of God to deal with us, according to 
Our faith, and we should be careful 
In iwhat we believe. 

Dead Eye: 
We cannot help what we believe. 

Senator. 
We have the right to use common sense. 
God loves a reasonable man. 
Dead Eye: 
Dreams often come to pass. 

Senator. 
We should regard such a case as 
A coincidence, rather than on acount of 
The dream. The admission of a dream 
In evidence, as to future joy or sorrow 
Treats God as though he is unreasonable; 
And if our God is unreasonable, we 
Must be unreasonable, ourselves; as a stream 
Cannot rise higher than its source. 

Dead Eye: 
How does seeking new revelation treat God 
As unreasonable? 

Senator. 
The bible contains all that a reasonable 
God can say to this world. When 
We have exhausted that message, it will be 
Time enough to seek another. 

Dead Eye: 
What then is our guide as to the future? 

—20— 



Senator. 
Hope is the only wise prospection of 
Specific future events. This quality is exhilerating 
When founded on faith in divine grace 
And loving kindness; especially so, when 
It is strengthened by the signs of the times. 

Dead Eye: 
What is hope? 

Senator: 
Hope is the aspiration of faith, 
Seeking realization. It denotes the 
Optimistic spirit as contra-distinguished from 
Pessimism and despair. It anticipates the 
Genial spring in the storms of winter, and 
The mildness of autumn in the heat 
Of summer, and aiwaits the evolution 
Of love in time of pain; while wondering 
At its tracery, in sorrow, as well as 
In time of joy. 

Dead Eye: 
What are these signs of the times? 

Senator: 
The indications in the general providences; 
Such as the red and lowering sky; A 
Strong political current; the bloom of orchards; 
Or the ordinary course of nature, when 
We have met its requirements. We plow 
In hope, sow in hope, but God gives 
The increase. We are here to use 
The forces at our command. Do the best 
You can, from day to day, and leave 
The evolution of your life, to divine 
Supervision, If the railway operatives were 
All under the influence of this thought 
Our hope of safe journey, would be 
Much stronger. No doubt, whatever, would arise 
To disturb our peace, and our hope 
Would approach near the degree of moral certainty. 

—21— 



Dead Eye: 
How many degrees has hope? 

Senator: 
The forecast of hope has three degrees of 
Strength: Moral certainty, probability and 
Possibility. We are justified in acting upon 
Our anticipation, in either of these cases. 

Dead Eye: 
But our specific hopes sometimes fail. 

Senator: 
Our specific desire may not always be 
Realized. But love never fails; and 
Love is greater than hope; and the 
Greater includes the less. 

Dead Eye: 
Why does love never fail? 
Senator: 
Love born of faith in a risen Redeemer 
Endureth all things and submits to 
Or adopts the divine will under all 
Circumstances; and this oneness of the human 
Will with the divine, precludes the predication 
Of failure; for God either does or suffers 
All things; and his ways and wisdom 
Are as good or better than our 
Projections. 

Dead Eye: 
What relation has a risen Redeemer 
To this hope? 

Senator: 
When the fact that Christ is risen, is 
Established, it intensifies the conviction 
That grace, mercy, loving-kindness, salvation 
And helpfulness are attributes of 
The living God; and our hope is well pleasing 
To him, when it involves such conception 
Of the Divine nature. 



■22- 



Dead Eye: 
Have you any samples of hope on hand? 

Senator: 
I always have some of the wine on 
My side-board. 

Dead Eye: 
I fain would sample it, where the 
Ingredients comprise moral certainty? 

Senator: 
I think it is the revealed intention 
Of the Almighty that those who die 
In the faith of the risen Christ 
Shall survive and enjoy the better and 
Enduring substance in the life to come. 

Comrade: 
That tastes good! It seems to be fermented! 

Senator: 
Yes, it is based upon the idea 
Of the Lord's death, arrested by his 
Resurrection. 

Dead Eye: 
What in probability? 

Senator: 

I look for safe journey. 

Dead Eye: 
That lacks both age and strength. 

Senator: 
It is slightly fermented however with the 
Possibility of death. 

Deavl Eye: 
Well, now, if you please, we would taste 
Some of your unfermented elixir? 

Senator: 
I hope for the development of a 
National political movement, based upon the idea 
Of federal intervention in our railway system. 



■23 



Dead Eye: 
There is nothing in the signs of the times 
To make that probable? 

Senator: 
No; hut it is possible; and iwould be 
In harmony with the truth. 

Dead Eye: 
We are prohibitionists. But this seems to be 
Innocuous. 

Senator: 
Drink, friends! Drink abundantly! 

Dead Eye (as one testing): 
This seems to be something in the nature 
Of the wine of astonishment! 

Comrade: 
Does your hope involve the idea of 
Government-ownership of the railway companies? 

Senator: 
Nobody ever has, or even can own a 
Railway company. It is a mere legal 
Entity, in possession of a franchise. 
To go through toiwns, cities and farms; 
And across highways: and kill 
The unwary who fail to stop and look 
And listen. 

Comrade: 
I thought the stockholders owned the company. 

Senator: 
The stockholders only possess the franchise of 
Assembling in town meeting, so to speak, 
And electing a board of directors. 

Comrade: 
What about the dividends? 

Senator: 
A stockholder merely has a right of 
Action against the treasurer of the company 
For his dividend after its declaration. But 

—24— 



The board cannot be compelled to declare 

A dividend; as it is a free moral 

Agent, in possession of a certain degree of 

Sovereignty belonging to the people, and is 

Delegated to the board in trust for 

The people — pro bono publico — the prosperity 

Of the stockholders being a mere incident 

Of the situation; and often a very uncertain 

Incident. 

Passenger: 

What railway policy do you favor? 

Senator: 
It seems to me that congress in 
Furtherance of the federal postal interests 
Should provide that all railways 
Shall constitute postal routes; and in the 
Interest of efficiency in that service 
And the general welfare of the people 
And the promotion of national police, 
Peace and prosperity, ordain reasonable freight 
Rates and a universal moderate passenger rate, 
Without racial discrimination; and subsidize 
The iweaker roads, by liberal mail contracts, 
Sufficient to make up the loss, if any, 
Arising from governmental intervention. 

Comrade: 
Would you regard two cents per mile 
As a reasonable passenger rate? 

Senator: 
It seems to me that a higher rate 
Than that unduly infringes upon the poetic 
Quality in travel — the holy spirit of 
Poetry being the blossom and fragrance 
Of hope, the test of justice and secret 
of grace with God and man. 

Comrade: 
How would you secure obedience to the law? 

—25— 



Senator: 
By encouraging the stockholders, especially 
The minority, to issue their proxies 
To a federal bureau; and a tax of 
Ten per cent upon all other railway 
Proxies, would serve as a stimulus 
In that direction. Along this line, it 
Would be wise for the government, 
To go into the market and buy this 
Class of stocks, from time to time, and 
Re-sell them, among the people, reserving 
The right of proxy. Pending the development 
Of such a system, congress should provide for 
The appointment of a receiver by the court, 
Whenever a railway is operated, unreasonably 
Whether as concerns the employees, the public, 
Or the stockholders. 

Dead Eye: 
What iwould you hope to accomplish in all this? 

Senator: 
Under such a policy, it seems to me 
The mails would be safer; accidents would be 
Less liable to occur; racial discrimination 
Would disappear; and justice iwould obtain 
Everywhere to all classes interested. 
I think the federal government and our 
Railway system should get married and thus 
Mutually conserve each other. The government 
Would in this way recover the rib of 
Sovereignty, it has lost in its deep sleep 
During the past hundred years. 

Dead Eye: 
Your optimism, dear sir, verges upon 
An Utopian dream. And now that the 
moon has gone off the sun, your wine 
Seems to lack the ice of reasonableness 
Out here in this summer solstice. I 

—26— 



Am still under impresesion of disaster 
To this train, and I iwill do violence 
To rny faith If I ride farther upon it. 

Comrade: 
I shall always, dear sir, remember your 
Courtesy; and will consider your views 
At a more convenient season, but am 
Constrained to go iwith my friend. 
(Exeunt.) 
Mary (alarmed) : 
Suppose, dear husband, I should refuse 
To go on this train, in view of 
The dire thoughts and dreams of these 
Friends? I, myself, was troubled last night 
In my sleep, and thought of Pilate 
And the strange dream of his wife, 
And her message to him! 

Senator: 
Beware, my dear, of evolving a new Bible; 
Which would be involved, if we are 
To have a new set of divine communications 
To men. One God, one Bible and 
One wife are enough at one time. 

Mary: 
Your thought is beautiful, dear! One God, 
One Bible and one wife! And yet, 
Accident may occur to this train? 

Senator (humorously): 
It ivvould give the surgeons or undertakers 
A chance, possibly! Or the wrecking crew! 
It is an ill-wind that blows nobody 
Any good! 

Mary: 
Your fortitude shaves close between grim humor 
And mirth. 

Senator (rallyingly) : 
It is better, my dear, to use parables 
You are familiar with. You have no 



■27- 



Experimental knowledge of a close shave 
You know! 

Mary (smiling in her perturbation): 

A merry heart doeth good like a 
Medicine. 

Senator: 
Life is truth! And humor is the oil 
To make it smooth; or light up 
Hope; which like the search-light adorns 
And cheers the night! 

Mary: 
Your tongue is like the pen of a 
Ready writer! And yet the engines sometimes 
Clash! 

Senator: 
You must not let your fears and 
Fancies make you morbid, my dear! 
Come, say the word! Shall we go 
Or stay? 

Mary: 
If faiths collide and 
Love is bruised 
And by and by 
Should heart grow faint; 
Or hope is wrecked 
And love may die; 
Or hope is gone 
And love is dead, 
Let a body cry! 

Senator: 
We should not cry, my dear, before 
We are hurt, nor be in bondage 
To fear! 

Mary: 
Do you leave it to me, to say 
Whether we shall go or stay? 

—28— 



Senator: 
In immaterial things; and things not vital, 
Though important, my wife can have 
Her iway! Let my love leave me 
And not me , my love! If we cannot 
Ride together, iwe will walk together 
Until we see eye to eye. 

Mary: 
Whither thou goest I will go; and 
Thy people shall be mine; and thy God 
Shall be my God! And I will be 
Your one wife! 

Senator: 
We will bank upon the divine promises 
And the unsearchable riches revealed there! 
We have a surety that could justify 
As rightful heirs of all things, and 
We are joint heirs with him! 

Mary: 
I marvel at your sublime faith! 

Senator: 
Why should our hearts be troubled, when 
All things iwork together for good to them 
That love God. This must he true 
As God does or suffers all things. 

Mary: 
It must be, of course, that God is good. 

Senator: 
Nobody can doubt it who considers 
The fruitful fields. Divine goodness must be 
In all our thoughts of God or 
Reason of things, our corner stone! 

Mary: 
Out of His goodness we build our 
Hope of safe journey? 

Senator: 
Yes; station by station; one at a time. 
This train cannot leave the track 

—29— 



Beyond the next stop until it gets there. 
We should not be like the man 
W!ho suffered from a great deal of 
Trouble he never had. Our hope is 
Small, if it is not strong enough 
To look beyond the next stop! 

Mary: 
You never forbode the future then? 

Senator: 
No; nor brood over the past! Sufficient 
Unto the day is the the evil thereof, 
Whether or no it proceeds from some sin. 

Mary: 
And so you have no fear? 

Senator: 
Perfect love, or a reasonably educated 
Christianity casts out fear. 

Mary: 
All fear? 

Senator: 
Yes; except the fear of God. We are 
Taught to fear Him. 

Mary: 
What does perfect love do with the fear 
Of the Lord? 

Senator: 
The fear of the Lord is the beginning 
Of wisdom. But the end of wisdom 
Or all-round Christianity transforms 
This fear into reverence; like galvanizing 
Iron into the Steele rail. All other 
Fear is cast out like the debris of ore. 
In the spirit of unreserved submission 
We say: The divine will be done; as 
God does or suffers all things and 
Whatever is, is right. 

Mary: 
Except sin! 

—30— 



Senator: 
Sin is derived from the idea of 
Missing the truth. It is not an existing 
Thing, practically speaking; but belongs 
To the realm of the past, as an act 
Done wilfully or ignorantly. The 
Consequences of sin are and can 
Only be in the present; and they 
Are right; for they are just and 
God is just. The quality of justice 
Is everywhere recognized, — in the church — 
In judicature — in the press — and 
Last, but not least, in the theater. 

Mary: 
Does the theater teach justice? 

Senator: 
The theater is a terrible temple of 
Justice. Let no guilty man escape, seems 
To be the law of the theater. 

Mary: 
Why do you think so? 

Senator: 

Why, see how we crown the memory 
Of our great martyrs; but execrate the 
Assassins. We shotw the latter no mercy 
On the stage. The soul that sinneth 
It shall die. Notwithstanding, they have 
Paid the penalty, their execution is 
Perennial on the stage. Although elsewhere 
We iwalk gently over the ashes of 
The clear! . 

Mary: 
I feel just now under the spell and 
Inspiration of what you say, it would not 
Be so, if I had the ordering of 
The play. 

—31— 



Senator: 
How would you evolve the scenario 
Of the play, my dear? 

Mary: 
What does scenario mean? 

Senator: 
The outline and current of the story. 

Mary: 
Methinks, in my scenario, I .would wash 
Away the mark from the brow of Cain 
In the blood of the great Atonement! 
And the direful spot from the hand 
Of David, who killed the husband of 
His paramour; and of Judas, who 
Betrayed his Master; and of the apostle 
Wlho consented to the murder of Stephen, before 
His conversion. And then I iwould come 
On down to Burr and Arnold and 
Place them at the altar with Brutus. 
And next to them the assassins of 
Our martyred presidents would kneel; and 
All look up and behold this same 
Great sacrifice for sin; and so; be 
Absolved, through remission of sins that 
Are past! And thus the drama would 
Have happy ending. 

(Sound, of aproaching relief engine.) 

Senator: 
Your representation might be hissed, my dear, 
By some who do not understand such 
Things. 

Mary: 
If that should occur. I would sprinkle 
The stage with sand. 

Senator: 
Dancing iwould not be in harmony with 
Such a scene! And besides, my dear, 
It is not usual for a star to dance 
On the stage! 

—32 — 



Mary : 
I would not dance, my dear! But 
Write in the sand, while they were 
Hissing me! 

Senator: 
Why would you do that? 

Mary : 
A malediction written in the sand 
Would soon be washed away by 
The rain. 

Senator: 
I marvel no longer, my dear, at our 
Hope of honeymoon down to fullness of years! 
God is blessing me, in you, and on account 
Of you, because you abound in such great 
Compassion, mercy and forgiveness! My 

heart burns 
Within me, as I realize the significance 
Of your thought! 

Conductor: 
All aboard! 

(Engine-bell rings.) 
(Senator and Mary enter the train.) 
(Stage suddenly darkened) 
(Kinetoscopic view of swiftly moving train.) 
(Stage suddenly lighted) 
(Operator rushes out on platform of village station.) 
Operator (to friends standing by) 
O friends! I have made a terrible 
Mistake! I misunderstood the message and 
Missed its truth! I read it; carelessly! 
There will be an awful wreck! Hundreds 
Will be killed! The shrieks of the 
Wounded! The widows and orphans that 
Will mourn! (Faints and falls.) 
(Stage sudenly darkened) 
(Kinetoscopic view of collision of passenger trains) 
Curtain. 

—33— 



Kinetoscopic Prologue to Third Act. 

(1.) Train crossing the bridge at Niagara Falls. 

(2.) Congress in Joint Convention. 

(3.) The Senate in session. 

(4.) The Supreme Court in session. 

(5.) The President and Cabinet in session. 

(6.) The Return of the Navy. 

(7.) Passengers entering ocean steamer. 

ACT III. 

[Scene: State-Room of Atlantic Steamer — Storm 
is rising.] 

Mary( sings): 

If hope is but a bubble 

It is a pleasing toy 

And every passing trouble 

But gives us as to joy. 

Then seize the passing treasure 

In light of evening star 

Awake the notes of pleasure 

Along the sweet guitar! 

Senator ( entering ) : 
That is beautiful music, my dear! Very fine 
Indeed! But will you allow me to criticise 
The sentiment? 

Mary: 

How would you criticise it? 
Senator: 
Hope is not a bubble, to those 
Who have faith in divine loving kindness. 
When founded on this faith, it is not 
A toy; but an anchor to the soul 
With which it enters the veil of the future. 

Pilot: 
Ship-a-hoy! 

Distant Response: 
Ship-a-hoy! 

—34 — 



Mary : 
Ho;w would you make it read? 
Senator: 
If hope of heart, is anchor 
In every ship-a-hoy 
Then every passing trouble 
But gives us as to joy. 
Mary: 
That does not fit my mood so well. 

Senator: 
If you will analyze your song, my dear, 
You will see you did not really mean 
What you sang. 

Mary ; 
How so? 

Senator: 
You sing of efferverscence. 
Mary: 
Wihat is the hope of which you sing? 

Senator: 
It relates not only to the better and 
Enduring substance in the life to come; 
But has the promise also, of this life — - 
The home, the vineyard, — the children play in: 

round— 
The roses, the bees, and the apple-blossoms — 
The comforts we have in civilization! For 
These things are not bubbles, nor vanity, 
Nor insanity, when viewed as gifts from 
The spirit of love. The ebulition of 
The inauguration is not all there is, 
Of the presidency. Life is real and 
Earnest; as it comes from God 
Who is earnest and true! 
Mary: 
Your thoughts and parables are too deep 
For me this evening, my dear. I am 
All at sea! 

—3 5— 



Senator (humorously): 
I am at sea too, my dear. We are 
Both at sea! 

Mary (cheering up): 
Yes, and this state-room is fine. 

Senator: 
Very fine indeed! If you have a lady 
With you, .when you travel, you get 
Well-treated. 

Alary: 
Yes, even if we do sometimes meet 
With a wreck. 

Senator: 
I was just thinking of our collision. 
It is a great wonder that none of 
The pasengers were injured. It iwas 
A very narrow escape! 

Mary (dryly): 
Yes, it was a close shave. 

Senator (smilingly): 
Now, my dear, you must not throw- 
That tup to me! I admit you know 
More about a close shave, than you did. 
But humor aside, while our hope was 
Not realized as specifically as we planned, 
Yet it did not fail. We escaped 
Without injury and came through on the 
Next train. So we are here and 
That incident is closed. 

Mary: 
And we are prisoners of hope that 
The next stop is far away! 
Senator: 
But innder the same divine supervision 
Of the evolution of our way, more 
Wonderful that the way of the eagle 
In the air. 

—36— 



Mary- 
It is grand indeed to explore, but 
Never exhaust the mystery of the sea. 
I often think of those who would 
Enjoy the voyage across the sea 
But are not able to take it. 
Senator: 
In your thought and consideration of 
The poor or unfortunate you must not 
Be morbid, my dear. God has use 
For the strong and the weak — the rich 
And the poor. 

Mary: 
He preached the gospel to the poor. 

Senator: 
And made his grave with the rich. 

Mary : 
He told the rich young man to sell 
All he had and give to the poor. 

Senator: 
It seems to me that that was a test 
Of the young man, analogous to the 
Command to Abraham to sacrifice his son. 

Mary: 
You think that is not of general application? 

Senator: 
No more than the command to sacrifice 
The son of the patriarch. The sacrifice 
Of children is certainly not required 
In our time. 

Mary: 
It is easier for a camel to go 
Through the eye of a needle, than for a 
Rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 

Senator: 
That is only a half truth. The fact is 
That nobody can enter that kingdom 
Except through divine grace. The rich have 



Less conscious need to seek and find 
God, unless they are afflicte I; and after 
Conversion, more readily become apostates 
For the same reason. 

Mary: 
Philanthropy is a christian grace, is 
It not? 

Senator: 
The rich man that is liberal to 
His employees, and reasonably remembers 
The poor, considering his other obligations 
And benevolences, will certainly never 
Regret, it, and will come more within 
The purview of divine mercy, himself. His 
Appetite will be better, his food more 
Nourishing; and grace will come in upon 
Him, that money cannot buy. The omnipresent 
God himself is of the essence of life, 
Rather than abundant possessions. They are 
Not vital, but mere things added 
To the indwelling vital kingdom of heaven. 

Mary: 
Do you think there is really such a thing 
As divine intervention in the affairs 
Of men, in our time? 

Senator: 
I have no doubt about it whatever. 

Ma ry : 
Why then should one be rich and another 
Poo: ? Or one train go through and another 
Fail ? 

Senator: 
Your thought is answered, my dear, in the 
Parable of the men who had borne 
The heat and burden of the day. They 
Made complaint that the eleventh-hour 
Hand was paid as much as they; and 
The capitalist answered: "Shall I not do 



-3S 



What I will with mine awn"? Along 
This line Omnipotence seems to vindicate 
Himself in the distribution of gifts. "Who 
Hath first given to him and it shall be 
Recompensed to him again"? 

Mary: 
Do you think capitalists have the right 
To do what they will with their own? 

Senator: 
Certainly; otherwise they would not be 
Created in the image of divine sovereignty 
Or be exponents of that quality in God. 

Mary: 
The Labor Union does not seem to take 
That view of it. 

Senator: 
It seems to me that order is working 
At the wrong end of the line. God 
Has set the governmental power of taxation 
Over against the power of capital. The 
Power of the government to tax is 
Unlimited and it has the right to do 
W|hat it will with its own. The 
Remedy it seems to me is a pension 
In fullness of years for faithful labor, 
From the funds derived in the exercise of 
This power of taxation of capital. 
(Flashing of lightning.) 
Mary: 
Is a pension in old age due to labor? 

Senator: 
Every man in this country is subject 
To be called in the Posse Comitatus 
And the military and naval service. 
The power of the government inheres in 
This fact; and it owes something to 
Each atom of that power. If the 



3 — 



Hand is there ready for the job 

He is entitled to reward, whether the 

Works start or not. 

Mary: 
If I am not getting in too deep 
Water for the laity, I am wondering how 
Such taxation of capital could be 
Accomplished? 

Senator: 
What the husband knows, the wife knows 
Or should know; for they are one you 
Know. It seems to me that the 
Federal government should gather into its 
Treasury, the excess, above a certain limit, 
Of all annual incomes, whether arising from 
Legacies, inheritances, gifts, business, or 
Otherwise; and the federal receipt should be 
Credited upon any similar tax, levied 
By the state. 

Mary: 
Is there any hope for such an idea? 

Senator: 
I think our civilization is likely to find 
Some such remedy as that, and thus 
Jetty that branch of the crystal river 
Against plutocratic tendency! Wealth swollen 
Beyond a certain limit previously ascertained 
And defined, should be carried off, in 
A race like this to the federal mill; 
And thus save the low lands of 
Business life from devastation! Two thousand 
Years from now, they will wonder at our 
Billionaire-breeding civilization ! 

Mary: 
You are not a socialist? 

Senator: 
No; but a million men gave their lives for 
This country! Is money more precious than 

— 40— 



Life? The son of Lord Roberts was worth 
More to him that the Transvaal! O my son, 
Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! Would 
God, I had died for thee, O Absalom, 
My son, my son! 

Mary: 

Would you curb the financial genius? 

Senator: 

No; but rather make him a conduit 
Into the federal treasury, so far as 
His superfluous accumulation is concerned. 
It should be the night of financial 
Ambition to reach this overflow limit 
And membership in that patriotic roll 
Of honor; unless the happier course 
Be chosen of gloryfying Gorl by such- 
Good work as the support of the gospel. 
And various benevolences and mercies, and 
Thus keeping below the federal outlet, except 
Where the wealth comes in like a flood. 

Mary: 
Does not the expression of things taxable 
In the constitution imply a limitation 
Of the taxing power to those things? 

Senator: 
Why, my clear Portia, it imposes the 
Duty of distributing the taxes over all 
The express subjects of taxation, and 
Thus lighten the burden upon all; 
But implies no limitation on the 
Taxing power inhering in nationality 
Unless expressly prohibited. Besides, the 
Development from a virtual confederacy 
To a nation, by carving out new states 
From virgin territory has taken away 
All implications, wherever they militate 

—41— 



Against the inherency of nationality. 
But, my dear, where did you get that 
Question? 

Mary: 
I read the newspapers. 

Senator: 
You do not believe all you read in 
The newspapers? 

Mary : 
1 try to sift what I read 

(Crash of lightning.) 

Senator: 
The storm is making you nervous, my dear! 
I would not study these deep subjects 
Too intently. Theophilus Thistle, the 
Successful thistle sifter, in sifting a 
Sieve full of unsifted thistles, thrust 
Three thousand thistles through the 
Thick of his thumb. 

Mary : 
I would like to be more successful 
Than he was. I am trying to see 
Whether capital can keep its three 
Thousand ducats until labor is 
Ready to die of old age? 

Senator: 
Render unto God his things; unto capital 
Its things; unto Caesar his things; and 
Unto labor its things. Suppose you sift 
Along this line. 

Mary: 
What things has labor? It does not seem 
To have much. 

Senator: 
His sleep is sweet and his appetite 
Is good. He has friends and neighbors; 
A grand country; and the church, if 

— 42— 



He cares to avail himself of its 
Advantages. Neither he ncr the rich : \\ ill take 
Anything out of this world. We are all 
On an equality in that respect. 

Mary: 
If such of us as are fitted to survive 
In the other world, are to be there 
Together, without a penny, it seems 
To me we should do something for 
The penniless here, rather thnn wait to begin 
Friendship there. 

Senator: 
I love you for your sympathy for 
The unfortunate and unrequited toil; 
And we will plan together in that matter. 
But come, my dear: do not worry 
About the other world. We will not 
Need money to pay hotel bills there. 
We will be in Father's house, where there 
Is music and dancing. 

Mary: 
What a beautiful thought: In Father's house, 
Y\ here there is music and dancing. 

Senator: 
Yes, my dear, it is so grand over 
There, that I find myself, in my thoughts 
In a close place. 

Mary (smiling): 
Another close shave, I suppose. 

Senator: 
You will not laugh at me? 
Mary : 
No; if I laugh at all, I am sure 
It will be with you. 

Senator: 
Well, I find myself wondering, whether 
I would rather stay here with you 

— 43— 



Or go over on the other side of Paradise 
And leave you here on this side 
To bless some other man! 

Mary: 
You horrid creature! The idea that I 
Could love another man! If I 
Should die could you love another? 
Senator (humorously): 
It would not look well to remain 
Single. It would appear as though my 
First marriage was a failure. The grand 
Success of this present wed-lock, it seems 
To me would justify a second experimenx. 
In the same direction, in the event of 
The demise of either of us. 

Alary (smiling) : 
Did you ever read the story of 
The man who undertook to shut the bees 
Out cf his orchard, when in bloom? 

Senator: 
How was that? 

Mary: 
He did not succeed! 

Senator: 
Ha! ha! ha! Well proceed! 

Mary: 
I am trying to find how love 
In a cottage, can survive without 
Bread? 

Senator*. 
It cannot do it! But in the home 
Of faithful labor the barrel of meal never 
Exhausts and the cruise of oil fails not. 
The dish however, should be sweetened; 
As this is a land flowing with milk 
And honey; and there is enough to go round 
And should and will be distributed, 
By the government, becoming a competitor 

—44— 



In the market for labor, through devotion 
Of its surplus revenues to public 
Improvements, including rivers and 
Harbors and highways. 

(Crash of lightning.) 

Mary: 
Your platform looks good to me; and 
I would vote for it, if I could vote. 

Senator: 
Yooi are represented through me, at 
The ballot-box. By the act of wed-lock 
The husband becomes the delegate of 
Kis wife, in matters of suffrage. 
And we all like to be delegates 
To Congress, conventions, stockholders meetinj 
And such things. So you see, my dear, 
This is one of the ways, in which 
The woman is the glory of the man! 

Mary: 

'So then you think I should be 
The. vine around the tree? 

Senator: 
In the parable I sing, my dear, man 
Stands for the government, and woman 
Is the railway, twining around, among 
The hills, and over the mountains and 
Across the valleys, like a river 
Pure and clear as crystal. 
Mary: 
We must be circumspect in the use 
Of parables. See where yours is leading 
You! The railway is running the 
Government in these days! 

Senator: 
No, my dear; the government and the railway 
Are merely getting into harmony! 

_45— 






Mary: 
So the wife is the crystal river 
Of which you sing? 

Senator: 
It flows in her heart, my dear! Where 
True love is, there is the crystal river, 
Whether it be of God, or home or native land — 
These three being correlated by the same spirit, 
Like heat, light and electricity, by 
The same essence. 

(Sharp crash of lightning.) 
Mary: 
Win at a dreadful storm! Surely Neptune 
Is busy to-night! I sometimes wonder 
If there is not something in the old 
Theology, that the devil is the Prince 
Of the Power of the air and storm. 

Senator: 
There is no devil, my dear. 

Mary (startled): 
No devil? 

Senator: 
No: nor never was, in fact. 
Mary: 
How did such an idea get into this 
World, if there is no devil in fact? 

Senator: 
There was a conception in the ancient 
World, of divinity as a diabolcs, or 
Devil, which means liar— all their 
Mythological creations, or deities, being liars 
Under the law of faith Christ delat with 
The world according to its conception; 
And said they were the children of 
The devil. For, if, by faith, the father 
Of spirits is a liar, then his children are, 
And must be; as a stream cannot 
Rise higher than its source. 

—4 6— 



Mary: 
Were all men liars in ancient times? 

Senator: 
David said they were. He admitted, however, 
That he was hasty in that expression. 

Mary: 
Then you think the idea is false 
That there is an all-pervading, intelligent, 
Malicious spirit, and he and the only 
True God are engaged in a close race 
For human souls, now one under the 
Wire, and now the other? 

Senator: , 
You have sifted that out right, my dear. 
The warfare of God is with irreligion 
And false religion: and he is covering 
The earth with true religion, as the water 
Covers the sea. 

Mary: 
Then you do not dispute the truth 
Of the gospel? 

Senator: 
No; I take God at his word. It 
Is the standard to which we must all 
Appeal. If there is anything wrong in 
The case, it is in my way of construing 
The word, and not in the word itself. 
I may be wrong in my exegesis; for 
I am finite. But according to my 
Conception or view, that word, taken 
As a whole, does not teach, nor reveal 
The existence of the devil. There is no 
Such entity to betray or torment us. 
The only devil, in any given case, is 
The devil within, by reason of some 
False conception of the divine nature. 
(Crash of lightning.) 

—4 7— 






Mary: 
Then when we are fighting the devil 
We are fighting a myth? 

Senator: 
Yes; and wasting our time. Our fight 
Rather, is with false religion, as weeds, 
Springing up in the midst of our 
Conceptions of Christ. "What think ye of 
Christ?" is the important question. As we 
Are saved by faith in Him and as to 
His nature; and not by faith in 
The devil, or any liar real or 
Imaginary. 

Mary: 
Why, as you view it, has God left 
The world under the dominion of war 
And this myth, for tho last 
Six thousand years; 

Senator: 
I have just explained, my dear, that 
As it seems to me, it is the divine nature 
To deal with humanity, acording to 
Its faith — the behests of his own holiness 
Apparently, requiring him to do so. 
But with wonderful patience he has waited 
For the development of evidence 
Sufficient to corroborate the divinity 
Of his son and truth of his word; and 
Thereby disabuse the world of its false faith 
And thus his mercy has always been 
Rejoicing against justice and judgment 
Like the gulf stream, we are now crossing 
Tempers the sea. 

Mary: 
You do not mean to say, that the 
Crystal stream, you sing, is also found 
In mid-ocean? 



■4 8- 



Senator: 
Yes; it begins in the gulf, and runs 
Along our coast and keeps us from 
Freezing, and then across the sea and 
Does the same thing there. 

Mary: 
What is the quality of justice, of which 
You speak? 

Senator. 
It is love of righteousness and truth, working 
Within its jurisdiction. It finds exemplification 
In various ways, in this world. The 
Exclusiveness of national jurisdiction finds its 
Counterpart, in its rivers and their banks; 
While international jurisdiction or concurrent 
Jurisdiction of the nations over the sea 
Finds its parable in this bankless stream 
In the midst of the sea, and duty to keep 
Its peace — all jurisdictions, however, from 
The least to the greatest being in connection 
Wiith, the divine overruling jurisdiction 
Parabolized, by the ail searching air, or 
Invisible sea. in which iwe live and 
And move and have our being and the home 
Of the lightning, cyclone and rain. 
(Crash of lightning with roar of mighty rushing 
wind.) 

Mary: 
What a dreadful storm! This bankless river 
Is in a wonderful fury! How can we 
Talk of the peace of the sea? Unless we 
Have on board, one with power to say 
To the waves: ''Peace, be still!" 

Senator: 
The Prince of Peace is on board the 
Squadrons of all nations, by virtue of 
Divine Omnipresence, and the navies of 
Christendom smile at the fury of the storm; 



■4 9- 



And with the wireless wings of a still 
Small voice, are commanding the waves 
To the uttermost parts of the sea. 

Mary (deeply interested): 
What is this still small voice? 

Senator: 
An awakened international judicial 
Conscience that has come to stay, methinks 
While time shall last. So you see 
My dear, a storm at sea, only adds 
Zest to the voyage, as we plow through 
The waves and sing of the peace of the sea. 

Mary: 
Then you believe in our navy? 

Senator: 
Yes; a moderate armament; sufficient 
To vindicate our membership in international 
Police and councils; but avoiding the 
Idea of an armed peace in the family 
Of nations! We have prospered a century 
Without a swollen navy! Why not 
Another, if we follow the paths of peace? 

Mary (rejoicing) : 

And so the crystal river, you sing, flows 
Ueber lund und meer! 

Senator: 

Yes, through the trumphs of science, the 
Sea has been conquered and reduced to 
A river, in comparison with the ancient 
Conception of an impassible gulf, which 
The rich man saw in his dream, and 
Still confuses theologians, who forget 
That with God nothing is impassible, nor 
Impossible. 

(Lightning and rumbling of thunder.) 

—5 0— 



Mary: 
If there is no devil in this storm, 
It must be then, our friends are mistaken 
Who think the theater is his workshop! 

Senator: 
Some men whose faith makes God a 
Devil or liar, sometimes write plays; 
And such men sometimes write sermons! 

Mary: 
You believe then in the drama? 

Senator: 
It springs from the quality of romance 
And poetry, in the divine nature. And 
The more wonderful the play, the nearer to 
Him, who never spake without a parable 
Or figure of speech; and in all he said 
Appears a picture with a background of truth. 
A woman in love is always a beautiful 
Picture on the stage. 

Mary (smiling): 
How about a man in love, on the stage? 

Senator: 
He makes an excellent back ground to 
The picture; provided always, that he tells 
Enough truth on the stage, to make it 
Appear that he knows something. It is 
Hard for a woman to make love to 
An ignoramus or a churl! 
Mary: 
You think then that Omnipresence enjoys 
A good play? 

Senator: 
God is true and earnest; yet 
The qualities of humor and play 
Are in his heart; and laughter there! 
And glee! Oh, the gladness, 
The glee! The infinite glee! 
Of the Almighty, spreading 

—51— 



Like the sunlight over the sea 
While its waves lash the shore! 

Mary: 
What is the ideal of the theater, as it seems 
To you? 

Senator: 
The main purpose, I think, is to instruct 
Wihile holding the pleased cr surprised 
Attention, 'with wonder; or scenes of events 
As though they ;were here and now, that 
Have been, or might be, or will be; 
In tragedy, of which terribleness is 
The essence; or in comedy, wherein we 
Laugh with one; as when we rejoice 
With the mother as she receives her son 
From the war; or where we laugh 
Not at, but with a man, in view of 
His prospects, when his fields or 
Orchards are in bloom; or sing of his hope 
In humor and pathos, with poetical 
Rejoicing, while in imagination — the 
Theater of the mind — a babe is on the 
Bill of the Play, smiting the marvelous 
Breasts that give it its life — a parable divln« 
Of the infantile wrath of the storm that 
Smites the sea! 

(Crash of lightning.) 
Mary: 
Youi' play is fine, hut audience small 
In the theater of the mind. 

Senator: 
The grandest play that the world has 
Ever seen, was to and audience of 
One! 

Mary: 
When was that and what was the 
Scenario of that play? 



Senator: 
The wonderful setting and multiplied symbols 
And outline and current are given 
To us, by the loved disciple, who saw 
This strange drama in the sky, while 
Banished to barren waste — The Island of 
Patmos — an epitome of events, down to 
Our time, and now going on; sublimely 
Culminating, in a picture of a throne 
Divine, founded by a spring, as pure 
And clear as crystal — the source! 
The wonderful source! of the crystal river 
I sing! 

Mary: 
"A measure of wheat for a penny; and 
Three measures of oats for a penny; 
And see thou hurt not the oil and 
The wine"! What does this mean in 
That Scenario? 

Sena tor. 
A magnate appeared, methinks, in the 
Chamber of Commerce, in a great city 
By a lake, and sold wheat 
At the rate, of one bushel for three 
Of oats! but took care not to 
Hurt the price of his provisions and corn — 
The oil and wine on change — where 
The pulse of the world is felt each day! 
(Enter Messenger.) 
Messenger : 
We have a message by wireless from 
Chicago. They offer a million to settle 
Your wheat deal! 

Senator. 
Tell them: All right here! 

(Enter Second Messenger.) 
Second Messenger: 
There is a panic in Wall street! 

—53— 



Your brokers say they must draw on 
Your Chicago House, for a million! 

(Senator (after brief meditation.) 
What day is this? 

Second Messenger: 
Valentine Day, sir! 

Senator. 
Well, tell them: All right there! 

Mary: 
What does this all mean, my dear? 

Senator: 
Only a storm, my dear, on one branch 
Of the crystal river! My boat is 
Strong enough to weather the storm! It 
Js a poor place though, for a man 
With only a row boat! 

Mary: 
I do not understand your parable, my dear. 

Senator: 
Just two pictures, from the spirit of 
Love, that sometimes hides a smiling face 
Behind a frowning providence — two pictures — 
One of prosperity, the other of adversity! 
In prosperity be joyful! In adversity consider! 

Mary: 
Consider what? 

Senator: 
That we brought nothing into this 
World; and it is certain we can carry 
Nothing out; and learn submission to 
The divine will, when a specific hope 
Is deferred or disappointed; while we 
Form a new hope and go ahead. 
"I have learned, in whatever state, 
Therewith to be content. I know how 
To be abased and to abound: Everywhere 
And in all things I am instructed 

—54— 



Both to be full, and to be hungry, 
Both to abound and suffer need." 

Mary: 
Where did you learn to be hungry? 

Senator: 
In the wilderness! 
(Crash of lightning. Fog signals.) 
(Stage suddenly darkened.) 
(Kinetoscopic views: 

(1.) Collision of steamers at sea and rescue of pas- 
engers. 

(2.) Panic on New York Stock Exchange.) 
(Curtain.) 



•5§ 



ACT IV. 
[Scene: The King and Queen of England on their 
throne, in state, usually incident to royalty. Senator 
and Mary standing near the throne.] 
Senator: 
I appreciate the force of your thought, your 
Majesty, but do not understand, yet, 
Why you should take such a great interest 
In the American Lexicon? 

The King: 
You do not even call your president 
King, although his power is greater than 
Mine! You have no king, nor kingdom 
Nor crown in America, and I am 
Wondering how, you are able to give 
Your young people an idea of such 
Things? How do you get them to understand 
What ''kingdom of heaven" means, without these 
Words in your current every day life? 

Senator: 
You are mistaken, your Majesty! We have 
A king in America! 

The King: 
Please explain? 

Senator: 
Your Majesty, is King of England, and 
Emperor of India! 

The King: 
Yes. 
Senator: 
And also King of the Sea! 

The King: 
Why do you say that I am King 
Of the Sea? 

Senator: 
The commanders-in-chief of the navies 
Of this world, are, ex officio, the 
Joint-Kings of the Sea, charged with 



■56— 



The duty of keeping the peace of the sea — 
The world's highway, touching all nations; 
Without which a people is like a farm 
Without a road. 

The King: 
So, as commander-in-chief of the British 
Navy, I am one of the kings of the sea! 
As you view it? 

Senator: 
Yes; and our president, as comander-in-chief 
Of our navy, is one of these kings 
Of the sea, jointly with your Majesty, and 
All other, similar commanders, by 
Virtue of the situation in which you 
Find yourselves involved, in relation to 
International-police. 

The King: 
Whence comes this International Sovereignty 
Or joint kingship over the sea, of which 
You speak? 

Senator: 
It springs from the inherency of 
Nationality, that feeds and is fed 
By it, in return, through the bankless channel 
Of commerce. So, you see, your Majecty 
This international kingdom of the sea 
Prevents the word "kingdom" from disappearing 
From our thought and Bible; and the phrase 
"Kingdom of heaven" still stands with us 
As the sign of an idea. 

The King: 
We speak of the kingdom of Great 
Britain. What do your speak of in 
Your country? 

Senator: 
We speak of our Union! The people 
Are the sovereigns, and they delegate various 



Phases of their sovereignty around among 
Divers officials from the president down. 

The King: 
Wherein do you differ from us? 

Senator: 
The people here are also sovereign; but 
By a fiction of the law, among the 
Multitude exercising some phase or other 
Of the quality of sovereignty, your Majesty 
Is the only one spoken of as the severeign. 
The idea of sovereignty seems to be embodied 
In you representatively, as the executive 
Head of the nation; although in fact, 
It is delegated by the people, through 
Parliament, or immemorial usage to 
A large body of officials from the 
Premier doiwn. 

The King: 
You think then my office is a sinecure? 

Senator: 
I hardly think your Majesty, you earn 
Your ten million, except it be as 
Commander-in-chief of the navy. You 
Cannot be divested of that command; as 
Parliament has no jurisdiction over 
The sea. That inheres in ycu as 
Commander of the navy. And the only 
Way, this inherency can be destroyed, 
Is to abolish your navy, and thus 
Practically destroy the life of your 
Nation. 

The King: 
Cannot Parliament appoint a Commander-in-chief 
Of the British navy? 

Senator: 
None that could be recognized in International 
Councils! Nobody but kings are eligible 
There! 

—58— 



The King: 
I see your distinction, Senator, and perceive 
Its truth; but how, as it seems 
To you, has it happened, in the course 
Of the evolution of the British civilization 
That the crown has become so shorn 
Of executive power in the internal 
Affairs of this kingdom? 

Senator: 
Wihile the Prince-Consort lived, he protected 
The prerogatives of the Queen. But after 
His demise the Cabinet assumed this 
And that function, along the line of 
The sovereignty of convenience: and a 
Prerogative once lost, is hard to regain. 

The King: 
Give an illustration of this matter? 

Senator: 
The pardoning power inheres in. and 
Is an high exponent of sovereignty. If 
The crown was not shorn of this 
Power, by encroachment, your Majesty 
Would not suffer an American Lady 
To languish in prison at the behest 
Of an insane judge. 

The King: 
But suppose the king is insane as 
Well as the judge? 

Senator: 
In that case you would cease to be 
A joint-king of the sea; and Great Britain 
Would disappear from international councils; and 
Become subject to international police; and 
Our President would intervene under his 
International police power and release a 
Worthy American citizen or himself 
Be worthy of impeachment. 



-59- 



The King: 

But suppose the British Cabinet should organize 
Resistance to such procedure? 

Senator: 
The executive head being only nomimal 
And virtual anarchy existing, in the case 
Supposed, in the erstwhile British Empire, 
Canada could be lawfully annexed to 
The United States. 

The King: 
But suppose a large number of 
People in Canada should object? 

Senator: 
Being without a recognized head, the people 
Of that territory would have no more 
Voice than in the case of the Phillipines. 
The United States, in such case, might consent 
To the development of a Canadian nationality. 
But nothing short of that would suit 
The temper of our people. 

The King: 
Well, I am glad to say that we 
Never expect any trouble with the American 
Branch of the Anglo-saxon race! 

Senator: 
We must impeach the crown at the 
Bar of International Police, on the ground 
Of death at the heart or at the top 
Before we could intervene in any part 
Of the British territory, without invoking 
Divine wrath upon ourselves. The United 
States never has been, and never will be, 
Guilty of invasion of the territory 
Of any recognized ruler in the family 
Of nations! How can our President 
Acquire jurisdiction in Canada, unless 
In some way, your Majesy has lost 
Or forfeited your right to rule there? 

—60— 



Two independent sovereignties on the same 
Soil is as impossible as the penetrability 
Of matter. 

The King: 
Did you not invade the Phillipines? 

Senator: 
During the regency Spain had no ruler 
Eligible to international councils; and hence 
Spanish territory was subject to international 
Supervision; and we were there by 
Intervention and not by invasion. 

The King: 
Was your intervention justifiable? 

Senator: 
It was in Cuba, but not, methinks 
In the Phillipines. We went down rightfully 
To pacify Cuba; but with strange inconsistency, 
Unsettled a vast Archipelago by 
Destroying the naval prop of the local 
Government there, when there was no thought. 
Nor intention, nor possibility of 
Withdrawing it from those waters. 

The King: 
Did President McKinley give the order 
To find and destroy that Spanish squadron? 

Senator: 
There is no record evidence that he did, 
In the archives at Washington. The message 
Was signed by the Secretary of the Navy. 
It may have been a daring, ambitious 
Encroachment, like that that has shorn 
The Crown of England of so much of 
Its pristine power and glory. The spirit 
Of encroachment was abroad in those 
Wild days. Even our Commodore there 
Usurped the prerogative to blockade Manilla; 
And threatened to make war on 

— 61— 



Germany, if she did not heed his 
Rules and Regulations. 

The King. 
Did not Spain declare war upon the 
United States? 

Senator. 
The regency was charged with the duty 
Of conserving its ward's estate; 
And had no right to wantonly 
Jeopardize or waste it. Its 
Declaration of war was void. It 
Should have applied to International Conservation 
For settlement of the questions it had 
In mind. On the other hand, I 
Was never proud of our declaration of 
War against an infant. I would rather 
Kiss babies than butcher them as 
Herod did. 

The Queen (smiling): 
They tell me the politicians kiss 
The babies in America? 

Senator: 
Yes; we think a great deal of 
Babies in our country. 

Mary: 
Except in the theater! We shut them out there! 

Senator. 
Yes; the manager forgets he was an 
Infant in arms, once, himself; and the 
Days and nights mother watched over him! 
Methinks, if I was on the stage, and 
Should hear a baby cry, it would give 
Me as much pleasure as to hear 
Them in church or. at a political 
Meeting; and we know the more the 
Merrier there! When the theater gets abreast 
Of the church, there will be no tags 
On the babies; and that branch of 

—62— 



The crystal river, will be pure as a spring 
In the parable I sing! 

The Queen. 
If I was an actress, dear Senator, I 
Would like to make love to you 
On the stage. For you would make 
A good back ground of truth! 

Mary (to the King) 
I suppose there is no way we can 
Dissolve this mutual admiration society? 

The King: 
The Queen knows a good thing, when 
She sees it. 

The Queen. 
That is why I married the Prince 
Of Wales. 

(All laugh.) 
The King. 
Well, Senator, in your bird's-eye view 
Of my kingdom, is there nothing, so far as 
You can see, that I can do in its 
Internal affairs? 

Senator (smiling). 
Well, you entertain the diplomats and 
Have good dinners! 

The King (smiling) : 
Yes. 
Senator. 
You make life pleasant for strolling 
Americans! 

(All laugh.) 
The Queen. 
We sometimes entertain angels, unawares 
In that way. 

The King. 
Wjell, Senator, continue the inventory. I 
Am interested in knowing how 
Others see us. 

—63-— 



Senator. 

Well, I notice you set the fashions! 

The King. 

Yes. 

Senator. 

Open Parliament? 

The King. 
Yes. 
Senator. 
Encourage the theater? 

The King. 
Yes. 
Senator. 
Promote the races? 

The King. 
Yes. 
Set a good example hy going to 
Church? 

The King. 

Yes. 
Senator: 
Reaping some of your wild oats? 

The King. 
How do you know that? 

Senator: 
The record is that all have sinned 
And come short of divine glory? 

The King. 
Well we cannot gainsay that record? 

Senator. 
No; the best way is to acknowledge the truth! 

The King. 
I am willing to be judged by 
A man that judges me by himself. 

Senator (to Mary): 
The only thing we can witness against 

—64— 



The King and the Queen is that they stole 
Our hearts. 

( All laugh merrily.) 

The King. 
Well, Senator, how do you make "thronos" 
Read in your American Bible, seeing 
You have no throne there? 
Senator. 
We are seeking to evolve a throne, or 
Exponent of "thronos" that shall endure for 
All time; and to that end are promoting 
A plan for the dedication of a tract 
On our Atlantic sea-coast, or an Island 
Near there, to international jurisdiction; 
And the erection there of a Temple of Peace, 
Where the Conservators of the Peace of the Sea 
Shall meet in royal state! 

The King. 

What do you expect from such an Assembly? 

Senator: 

Many things, as the years come and go: 
It would review claims of fraud, accident 
Or mistake in the findings of International 
Arbitrators; approve, revise or reject reports 
Of International Commissions; consider the de- 
cadence 
Of nationalities and the claims of new nations 
To recognition; and make any needful 
Provision for the government of the sea 
And international space on land — supervising 
The evolution of new nations, from time to time. 
Last, but not least, suffice it to say that 
We expect from that throne by the sea 
A mandate, forbidding the use of the sea 
In furtherance of war of invasion of 
Any recognized nationality; and thus clip 
The naval wing of war of invasion; so that 
Dragon will never fly again; and thereby 



Confine all squadrons to the international 
Police-jurisdiction over the sea, 
And dead or nominal dynasties or 
Decayed republics on land. 

The King. 
But how could your president take part 
In such a conference? Is he not 
Required to submit his dealings with other 
Nations to the Senate? 

Senator: 
Nothing but treaties! The results of this 
Conference would not be of that class — being 
Judicial rather than contractual or 
Legislative; except the formulation of 
Its rules of procedure. 

The King. 
But under your constitution Congress has 
Power to declare war! How could your 
President unite or engage in any 
Intervention without this antecedent 
Declaration? 

Senator: 
That declaration is not necessary to the 
Exercise of police power, whether national 
Or international. President Lincoln in the 
Exercise of national police, called for 
Seventy five thousand volunteers, before Congress 
Assembled; and President McKinley acted 
Without a congressional declaration in the 
Boxer insurrection. 

The King: 
Is not this idea of there being any 
International Law a dangerous thought? 

Senator: 
Why so, your Majesty? 

The King. 
Does not that idea imply a power 
Over nations? 

— 6G— 



fcenator: 
No, your Majesty. Nationality denotes 
Supremacy over its territory. A 
Power over supremacy is a solecism! 
International law is not a law over 
Nations! It is the law of the space 
Between nations, primarily the sea; 
Incidentally international space on land. 

The King. 
What is international space on land? 

Senator: 
Where there is no recognized nationality; 
Or dead or nominal dynasties or republics; 
Such as would be in England, if 
Your Majesty should be deprived of 
Your command of the navy; or should 
Be adjudged insolvent, corrupt or 
Insane; or mob-violence should prevail. 

The King. 
How do we ascertain international law? 

Senator: 
By precedent and the perfection of 
Human reason, as near as may be! 
The Golden Rule is the basic thought of all 
International law. Upon this hangs all 
The law and the prophets. The essence 
Of international law is the law of 
The highway or commons. Every nation 
Should keep to the right and give half 
The road, no odds how large its 
Automobile may be; and every man 
Should behave well in a public park. 

The King. 
Who constitutes this judiciary in the family 
Of nations? 

Senator: 
The ultimate commanders of the navies 
Of the world, including your Majesty, 



-6 7- 



The emperor of Germany and the 
President of the United States. 

The King: 
But some navies are much larger than 
Others? 

Senator: 
A bicycle has as much right to 
The highway as an automobile. But 
From policy as well as courtesy 
The latter is generously given the 
Right-of-way; or boorishly takes it; 
And the smaller craft gives the 
Ocean-steamer a wide berth, when 
Moving in the same harbor or they 
Meet at sea. 

The King: 
Your parable is not clear to me 
Senator! 

Senator: 
Great Britain and the United States 
Should and would have great influence 
In such a conference; but technically 
The vote of the smallest navy should count 
As much as the largest; like the vote 
Of some obscure member of Parliament 
Counts as much as the most influential; 
Or the Senator from the smallest state 
In our Union as one from the 
Most populous! 

The King: 
But suppose some of them, especially 
The smaller should become unfaithful 
Or venal? 

Senator: 
The remedy is to refuse to recognize 
Such a ruler in international councils 
And treat his territory as international 
Space on land. 



es- 



The King: 
Who is the judge of the membership 
In this International Assembly? 

Senator: 
Every Assembly known to modern 
Civilization is the judge of its own 
Membership and the majority rules. 

The King: 
Would not this conference consolidate all 
Nations into one rationality? 

Senator: 
It would have no jurisdiction over 
Any recognized nationality. Its jurisdiction 
Would attach only to the sea and 
International space on land! 

The King: 
Where do we get authority for the 
Idea of International Police-Power? 

Senator: 
We have a mandate of civilization to 
That effect; which will more clearly 
Appear when we consolidate the 
Oceans, or make them one, so to speak! 

Mary (smiling) : 
You must not mind him, your Majesty! 
He has oneness on the brain! 

The Queen (appreciatively): 
I have heard of such cases. 

The King (smiling) : 
I hope the brain storm will spread! 
You seem to be a righteous people, 
Senator; and I am wondering how 
You translate "crown of righteousness" in 
Your American Bible — seeing that 
You have*no crown over there? 

Senator: 
It conduces, you know, to brotherly kindness 
To borrow of one another, in the family! 

—69— 



So we borrow the word "crown" from 

The British civilization. "He that would borra 

Of thee, turn not thou away"? 

The King: 
You already owe us several billion! 
How much more do you want? 
We sometimes wonder over here, if 
You Americans want the earth! 

Senator: 
No; we want your crown! I have 
No doubt, your Majesty, that you 
Would lend your crown to the 
President of our International Conference: 
And you, of course, would wear 
It, when you, yourself, should be 
Called upon to preside; and in 
This way it would appear on our 
Side of the Atlantic sufficient to prevent 
The idea from becoming absolete over 
There! 

The King: 
I think highly of your iciea in the 
Interest of a common English-American 
Bible and the peace of the sea; which 
It clearly enjoins. The plan of 
Erecting an international throne 
Appeals to me strongly! 

Senator: 
I am a prisoner of hope, your Majesty, 
In this matter and thank God for 
Your gracious words and take courage! 
(Senator weeps for joy.) 

The King (sympathetically): 
By the way, Senator, if the site should be 
Chosen on your main land where 
Wbuld you locate it? 

Senator (recovering his composure): 
Anywhere, your Majesty, by the sea! 







The steel rail runs like a crystal river 

Up and down our coast! 

Anywhere along that stream will do! 

The King: 
Can you secure the necessary legislation? 

Senator: 
Our people are not hasty in making 
Up their minds. But I think it 
Will come in due time. 

The King: 
How will you raise the funds for 
This enterprise? 

Senator: 
That is the business of the Prince 
Of Peace, working through such 
Instrumentalities as he may choose. 

The King: 
Do you expect the help of the divine 
Prince of Peace in this enterprise? 

Senator. 
Methinks it is his work. 

The King: 
My crown, which represents a dominion 
Upon which the sun never sets is 
Always at his disposal. 

Senator: 
Our prayer is that the glory of 
Your sun-set-less crown may never 
Be tarnished nor diminished! 

Mary (to the Queen): 
And that you may have a lifetime 
Honeymoon, in the shade of your 
Moon-set-less crown! 

The Queen. 
Ah! if it could only be cloudless! 

The King: 
No clouds, no rain, my dear! 

— 71 — 



The Queen. 
Yes, there is consolation in the thought 
That there is a time to every purpose 
In an optimistic universe! No snowy cumulus. 
No sleigh bells! 

The King: 
No stormy nimbus, no storm-doors! 

The Queen. 
No filmy cirrus, no poetic sky! 

The King: 
No liquid stratus, no umbrella-man! 

The Queen (sighing) 
No poetry, no life-time honeymoon! 

The King (smiling). 
No summer-heat, no fans, nor fan-language 
Between lovers! 

The Queen (pleased) 
That is better. 

(All laugh merrily.) 
Senator: 
We sympathise with your Majesties in your 
Efforts to prop up the moon, for 
Life. We know how it is ourselves, 
As we are working along that 
Same line! 

The King: 
Since when, Senator? 

Senator: 
Since we got the Archipelago. The 
Moon always shines, now, somewhere on 
Our sun-set-less realm! 

The Queen (merrily to Mary): 
How are you getting along with your 
Lifetime honeymoon? 

Mary (smiling): 
It shines as bright as ever! 

The Queen (merrily): 
I would make the most of it, while 
It lasts! 

—72— 



The King: 
The sting in these shining hours is, 
That they pass away all too soon! 

Senator: 
There is a faith that takes away 
All the stings of this life! 

The King: 
I suppose then, dear Senator, the sting 
Of death has no sting or terror for 
You in the parable you sing? 

Senator: 
Methinks death is promotion! And when that 
Subject comes up in my mind, I am 
In a strait, twixt two; whether to stay 
And cheer up my wife; or to go 
And see the glory revealed in the 
Transfiguration! 

The King: 
How do you settle it? 

Senator (Smiling). 
Well, I consider I might as well 
Stay here until the close of our 
Lifetime honeymoon! 

The Queen. 
I do not know whether to laugh 
Or weep! 

Mary : 
I have learned to do both, dear Queen, 
At the same time. 

The King (to Senator). 
You must often have faced death 
To look upon it with such fearlessness? 

Senator: 
Yes, we saw death in all its forms 
In the war for the union. Those were terrible 
Days, your Majesty, when civil liberty and 
The world's future, through a mysterious 



■73- 



Providence, hung trembling in the balance 
In the hands of two men! 

The King: 
To whom do you refer, Senator? 

Senator: 
General Grant, the soldier-patriot, on our 
Shores, and Prince Albert, the unfaltering 
Friend of America over here! 

The King: 
The praise of the father is grateful to 
The children and children's children! 

Senator: 
We cherish his memory and honor 
His name in America! 

The King: 
Were you in that war? 

Senator: 
I was an orderly of the General. 

The King: 
He loved his comrades! 

senator: 
Yes, and loved them to the end, 
Until his life went out like 
His candle in the wilderness! 
I love these same boys! They are 
Diamonds, in the parable I sing! 

The King: 
You expect to meet him and his 
Comrades? 

Senator: 
My hope abounds that way, and all 
Other good ships-a-hoy! 
As we take our leave, your Majesty, 
Lest we tax your patience. 

The King: 
Not so soon, Senator! 



-74- 



Senator: 
There is a time to withdraw, without 
Making your neighbor twice glad! 

The King: 
The word neighbor must have a 
Broad significance in your American 
Lexicon? 

Senator: 
Yes, it is coextensive with parishioner, 
In our American Bible. 

The King: 
The parish is limited in this country. 

Senator: 
The world was John Wesley's parish. 

The King (smiling). 
Well, take care of that lifetime 
Honeymoon! 

Senator: 
The same to you, your Majesty! 

The Queen (to Mary). 
I hope to meet you at that conference 
By the sea! 

Mary: 
That will be fine! 

Senator : 
You must not forget to bring the 
Crown with you! 

The Queen. 
I will see to the packing of it 
Myself! 

The King: 
We want to see our two new neighbors 
Again, soon! 

Senator: 
Thank you, your Majesty! This is a good neighbor- 
hood! 
I find a friend of my boyhood, located 
Here, by virtue of divine omnipresence! We 

—75— 



Bid you good-by as we leave you 
In such good hands! 

The King: 
Good-by dear friends! As we taste the sweets 
Of reciprocity and seek good from the 
Spirit of good cheer! 

(Stage Suddenly Darkened.) 
Kinetoscopic Views: 

(1) The Senator's Vision of the Temple of Peace. 

(2) The House of Lords in Session. 

(3) The House of Commons in Session. 



— 76>— 



ACT V. 

[Scene: Veranda of way-side inn in the Valley of 
Adjalon, — bright full moon.] 

Senator: 
At last, my dear, our hope is 
Realized! This is the valley of Adjalon! 

Mary: 
It is indeed a grand view! Where 
Does this scene appear on the map? 

Senator: 
We are about two thirds of the way 
From the Holy City to the Mediteranean 
Sea , around which center all the chief 
Events of ancient history — the greatest of 
Which, and of all time, is the Cross! 

Mary : 
Has this region any connection with 
Grecian and Roman History? 

Senator: 
Alexander the Great passed near this point, 
Upon his march to the conquest of 
The Holy City; and the twelve Caesars 
Ruled here, and ov r er the civilized world, — 
The first six, Julius Augustus, Tiberius, 
Caligula, Claudius and Nero, connected 
As blood relations, hanging up in the 
Gallery of history, like the major planets 
In our solar system! 

Mary: 
Who is the sun around which these 
Stars of history shine? 

Senator: 
Christ was born in the reign of Augustus; 
And was crucified under Tiberius. His 

—77— 



Disciples were first called Christians at Antioch 
Here in Asia Minor, in the days of Claudius; 
And were burned as torches, in Nero's 
Gardens at Rome! And so the sun of 
Christianity arose, and since then has always 
Been the center of the world's literature! 

Mary: 
It is truly enchanted and enchanting 
Ground! I do not wonder at the 
Prophet's courage to stay the moon 
In such a view as this! 

Senator: 
And this is the very same moon, 
My dear; and it will shine on our 
Friends at home twelve hours from now! 

Mary (smiling at her fancy) 
I will throw it a kiss and maybe 
It will throw it down to them — 
Some company enjoying a moon-light 
Picnic on the crystal river, on some such 
Night as this! 

Senator: 
I do not object, my dear, to your 
Tossing a kiss to the man in the 
Moon! But I draw the line there! 

Mary: 
Set me as a seal on thy heart; 
As seal upon thine arm; for 
Love is stronger than death; 
Jealousy is cruel as the grave, 
The coals thereof are coals of fire! 
A most vehement flame! 

(Electric lights in the inn are turned on) 
(Enter Vallmer) 
Vallmer: 
Glad to see you, my friends! Very glad 
Indeed! 

— 7S— 



Senator: 
Hello, Vallmer! The pleasure is mutual 
I assure you! 

(All shake hands.) 
Vallmer (rallyingly) 
I wonder at your shaking hands, with 
A foe to your religion! 

Senator (smiling) 
If ye salute your brethren only 
Wihat do ye more than others? Do not 
Even the publicans the same? 

Mary (mirthfully) 
You look as though you enjoyed travel, 
Without an encumbrance? 

Vallmer (gallantly) 
I sometimes think it would be better 
If I was encumbered. 

(All laugh.) 

Senator: 
How is the Spinx? 

Vallmer: 
It is there just as it was four thousand 
Years ago! 

Senator: 
Learned nothing from it? 

Vallmer: 
Not a thing! If it ever saw or 
Heard of the staying of the moon 
During the forty centuries it has been 
Bayed, around there, it said nothing 
About it. 

Senator: 
I see you are as faithless as ever. 

Vallmer: 
If I should say I came here 
On a wireless ray, by way of the moon, 
What would you say? 

—79— 



Senator: 
I would ask you if you met 
Santa Claus on the way up there? 

Vallmer: 
You know what becomes of the unbelievers. 

Senator: 
Faith is the assent of the mind, to 
An alleged fact, based upon evidence, 
In the exercise of reason. 

Vallmer : 
You would have my testimony that 
I came by that route. 

Senator: 
But the story would be unreasonable — 
Inherently improbable! 

Vallmer: 
How about the story of the Ascension 
Around here somewhere? 

Senator: 
A tree is known by its fruits. The 
World must judge Christianity by its 
Fruits. If there is no corroboration 
There, it must be rejected! 

Mary (mildly) 
I would that we postpone theological 
Subjects until tomorrow, and all have 
A good visit this evening. 

Senator: 
I notice that our friend is more pleased 
Wlhen entertained along this line than 
Any other. 

Vallmer: 
Yes, it is as hard for the Senator and 
Myself to avoid locking horns, as the boys 
And girls from kissing each other 
When out playing a letter in the postoffice. 

Mary (smiling.) 
It seems to be disputation merely for 
Disputation's sake. 

—80— 



Vallmer (laughing). 
I must confess that I enjoy the comparison 
Of notes with a thinker like your husband. 
I would be glad if we could see alike 
On these subjects, but the thought uppermost 
In my mind, as I travel in this region, 
Is, as to whether the son of God, ever 
Appeared here; and I find my heart 
Recoils from the idea. So I suppose 
We might as well agree to disagree 
And be discharged from the case. 

Senator: 
The trouble with your parable, if my wife 
Will pardon me a moment, is that 
You demand to be a witness, rather than 
A juror; like Thomas, who refused 
To believe in the resurrection of his 
Master, unless he should put his fingers 
In the print of the nails and thrust 
His hand in his side. 

Vallmer: 
It is claimed that he was given 
The test he demanded. 

Senator: 
That was in the day of the development 
Of eye-witnesses. But now the evidence 
Is all in; and it is enough; and God 
Is seeking faithful jurors. The venire 
Is out for reasonable men; endowed 
With power to weigh evidence and bring in 
True verdicts. If you should become 
A witness, you would not be eligible 
To sit on the jury. 

Vallmer. 
I do not understand your parable. 

Senator: 
As an honest jurist, in a case, what 
Kind of men do you want on the jury? 

—81— 



Vallmer. 
I want reasonable men, of course. 

Senator: 
And men that are not witnesses in 
The case. 

Vallmer: 
Yes. 

Senator: 
Well, that methinks, is the kind of men 
God is seeking to try his case. 

Vallmer: 
Why am I not eligible to be a 
Juror? 

Senator: 
You refuse to believe, except what you see; 
And reject all truth outside of your 
Personal knowledge. 

Vallmer: 
Well, if God has left me destitute 
Of the faith-faculty or power to acquire 
Faith-knowledge of an unseen fact, 
Why, then, am I to be damned for 
My unbelief? 

Senator: 
Why some are born blind or deficient 
In any respect, physical, mental or 
Spiritual is involved in divine mystery. 
But I think, dear friend, you were 
Sufficiently endowed with the faith-faculty, 
And I am wondering whether it has perished 
Like any other faculty will perish 
From non-use. The loss of this faculty 
Is a peculiar species of damnation, in 
This present time; whatever may be the 
Developments in the future! 

Vallmer: 
Well, I am willing to take evidence 
Of matters occurring in the course of 
Nature: but not beyond that. 

— S2— 






Senator: 
Then there are some things you will believe 
Without seeing? 

Vailmer: 
Yes; but not of the supernatural! That 
Is impossible; or at least too improbable! 

Senator: 
But suppose there is strong corroboration? 

Vailmer. 
What are some of the specimens of this 
Alleged corroboration? 

Senator: 
The heavens declare the glory of God. 

Vailmer. 
Yes; I believe in the existence of 
A deity of some kind; and the 
Heavens are proof that he has a 
Wonderful conception of the beautiful 
And the sublime! It is this crucified 
And risen Son that I deny! 

Senator: 
What do you do with the existence 
Of the church, from the day the word 
Christian first appeared in this world 
At Antioch, down to the present time? 

Vailmer: 
It is an item in the case, but not 
Convincing. 

Senator: 
The bible itself is a collection of books 
More wonderful in its contents, development 
And preservation, than any miracle recorded 
There! It is the standing miracle of the ages! 

Vailmer: 
Do you consider that book self-proving? 

Senator: 
With nature attached as an exhibit, it is. 

Vailmer. 
How an exhibit? 

—S3— 






Senator: 
The invisible things, of God, are clearly seen 
Being understood by the things that are 
Made, even his eternal power and divine 
Nature. This makes the things that are made 
An exhibit to the divine record, in 
The parable I sing; and we should study 
It. in the light of these things, or the 
Phenomena about us, as part of the 
Record in the case. 

Vallmer: 
Does an illustration of your thought occur 
To you? 

Senator: 
Consider, for example, the wonderful scenarios 
Written there two thousand years ago 
Of the then future events, but now 
Being developed! 

Vallmer: 
To what do you refer? 

Senator: 
They are all great and marvelous! But 
I have in mind just now, the scene 
Where the church in its glory, as 
We find it today, was pictured in the 
Sky, as a bride coming down from heaven 
Adorned for her husband! 

Vallmer: 
That, of course, strikes you favorably just now! 

Senator (ignoring the sally) 
And an angel flew across the horizon 
With the everlasting gospel in his hands 
While Satan fell as lightning from the sky. 

Vallmer: 
What is this Satan? 

Senator: 
It seems to be the accusatory quality 
Of lex talionis, tbat evinces itself, in 



■84- 



Our civilization, after any overt criminal 
Act! 

Vallmer: 
What does his fall mean? 

Senator: 
It seems to denote a change in our procedure 
Whereby those who have lost their sovereignity 
Or right thereto, whether sane or insane 
Will be dealt with upon the same principle; 
And in an inquest of criminal propensity 
The past history, including any and 
All conduct, good or bad, will be 
Admissable, the same as in an inquest 
Of lunacy. 

YaUmer: 
The idea and taint of felony and 
Defense of insanity -\vould then disappear from 
Our civilization? 

Senator: 
Yes, and the policy wil be to 
Heal the criminal, the same as the 
Homicidal maniac is healed and becomes 
A man, once more among men. 

Vallmer: 
Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man 
Shall his blood be shed. 

Senator: 
That anathema was met, along with all 
Others, on the cross. Wie may electrocute 
Such a man, whether he is sane or 
Insane; and many a homicidal maniac 
Is mobbed and killed without trial. 
But we are not required to inflict 
The capital penalty; and would better not; 
As it is a strange sight to see one 
Sinner send another sinner to electrocution 
Or the felon's cell. We should rather 
Heal and save as many as may be 



■85- 



And thus avoid condemnation ourselves. 
He that converteth the sinner from the 
Error of his way, shall sa^e a soul from 
Death, and hide a multitude of sins. 

Vallmer: 
What will be done with the incorrigible? 

Senator: 
While there is life there is hope, for 
With God nothing is impossible that 
He wills to do. But of course, as long as 
Men think or act as though they know 
More than God, there will be more or less 
Need of restraint and guardianship. For such 
Conceit tends to madness. Men in their 
Madness said that Christ was beside 
Himself and had a devil. But my 
Hope is that the time is not distant, when 
The world will see that he was reason 
Incarnate, and that there is reason 
For all things, and an underlying optimism 
In all things; and that along some 
Such line as this the curse of insanity 
Will be lifted from humanity. 

Vallmer: 
What scriptures do you base this optimistic 
Hope upon? 

Senator: 
"Come now, saith the Spirit, and let us 
Reason together; though your sins be 
As scarlet, they shall be as wool; 
Though they be red like crimson, they 
Shall be white as snow." 

Vallmer: 
Any other? 

Senator: 
"There shall be no more curse." 

Vallmer: 
Where do you find that? 



ie— 



Senator: 
In the scenario of John, where the 
Crystal river begins its flow through 
The hearts of men; and as fast as 
It finds its way there. 

Vallmer: 
Well, Senator, the visions and dreams of 
The bible are wonderful; but there is 
One point where you must always fail! 

Senator: 
Where is that? 

Vallmer! 
la the promises! It is written; if ye have 
Faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye 
Shall remove mountains! Now let us see 
You move a mountain! (laughs gleefully) 
Cast Gibeon into the Valley of Ajalon, 
For instance! 

Senator: 
That is not as impossible, as you might imagine! 
A mountain is only a series of hills. If 
You resolve the mountain into its hills or 
Constituent elements it is gone. The 
Moving the hills is the serious business, — 
One at a time, by patience; as in 
The case of the steel rail that is 

Filling every valley, bringing low every mountain 
And hill, making the rough places 
Smoothe, and the crooked straight. 

Vallmer! 
The desert shall blosom as the rose! 
Let us see you make a flower appear 
Where none ever grew before! 

Senator: 
The flowers in the dining-car and the 
Observation-car, and worn on the 
Train, make it hard to find a desert 
Anvwhere in the world! If I take 






The wings of the morning and fly 

To the uttermost parts of the earth, there 

I find the Lily of the valley and 

The Rose of Sharon! 

Vallmer! 
Well, now, seeing you have the mountains 
Reduced to a plain and the arid districts 
Reclaimed, you do not seem to leave 
Much standing-room for the orthodox idea 
Of nell in this world! I am wondering where 
It will come in, when your new earth 
And new heaven are fully developed? 

Senator: 
Gehenna, or the Valley of Hinnom is a 
Parable of the decay of the moral nature; 
And according to the scenario of John 
It was to be cast into the second death. 

Vallmer! 
What does the second death mean? 

Senator: 
As I understand that figure of speech 
It signifies the loss or sovereignty 
Incident to insanity, in all its forms; primarily 
Including the phase known as second child-hood! 
Sovereignty represents life! The child is 
Subject to tutelage or guardianship; and 
Hence, is legally dead. When a man 
Dies at the top, whether before or 
After the decay of his moral nature, 
He is subject to guardianship; and hence is 
Legally dead the second time. 

Vallmer! 
Then accorling to your view, the casting 
Of hell into the second aea^n involves 
The transforming of the penitentiary into 
An asylum where the inmates are discharged 
Upon the development of patriotism and 
Good will to men? 



Senator: 
It seems to me so. 

Vallmer (meditatively) 
Once a man and twice a child! 

Senator: 
He that overcometh shall not be hurt 
Of the second death. I am relying on 
That promise; and hence expect my 
Sovereignty or right to make a will, 
Or do what I will with my own, 
To continue until my demise! 

Vallmer! 
And so you think the second death 
Derives its significance primarily from dotage. 

Senator: 
I can find no other explanation. 

Vallmer! 
Can a man recover from dotage? 

Senator: 
Did you ever know of such a recovery? 

Vallmer! 
I never did. 

(Enter Tramp-musician. Furnishes exquisite 
sic and takes up collection. All contribute.) 
Vallmer! 
That is very fine music, my friend! I 
Wonder at your taste in selection! You 
Seem to have seen better days. 

Tramp : 
That which hath been is now; and 
What is to be hath already been! 
Vallmer, (to Senator) 
He is not a lunatic is he? 

Senator: 
He seems queer. 

Vallmer! 
Where did you come from? 
Tramp: 
I do not know. 

—89— 



Vallmer! 
Where are you going? 

Tramp : 
I do not know. 

Vallmer: 
Where did you stop last? 

Tramp: 
I never stop anywhere! I am always 
In motion! 

Vallmer (to Senator) 
Do you suppose he is an imposter, simulating 
Insanity! 

Senator: 
It seems to me he is daft. 

Vallmer (derisively) 
Perhaps you were cast into the second death 
Somewhere? 

Tramp: 
Well, judge it is up to you. 
Vallmer: 
What are you doing over here? 

Tramp : 
I am gathering pictures, drawn by a 
Master hand, two thousand years ago. 

Vallmer: 
What is your collection worth? 

Tramp: 
Not less than a thousand million. 

Vallmer: 
You must be a rich man? 

Tramp: 
I am poor in this world's goods, but 
Rich in faith. 

Vallmer: 
Now let us see; how old do you 
Say these pictures are? 

Tramp: 
Two thousand years. 

— 9-0— 



Vallmer: 
I suppose you were there and saw 
Them painted! Possibly you are the 
Egyptian mummy I saw the other 
Day with the Sphinx, and have concluded 
To open your eyes and come around 
And be neighborly? 

Tramp: 
I believe and therefore I speak. 

Vallmer: 
Are these pictures well preserved? 

Tramp: 
They were drawn on the sky and are 
As bright as a mid-summer day! 

Vallmer: 
I suppose they sparkle like love 
At first sight? 

Tramp: 
They were painted by the spirit of love. 

Vallmer: 
Well, now, we are very curious to know 
Who you are. 

Tramp: 
Suppose I am the mummy of 
Which you speak, animated by an angel 
As you suggested a moment ago. 

Vallmer: 
Any tramp can claim to be an 
Angel. 

Tramp. 
But they are not all able to act 
Well, that part. 

Vallmer: 
Well, which are you doing; simulating insanity 
Or impersonating an angel? 

Tramp. 
Consider the clouds! Some have water and 
Some have not. 

—91— 



Vallmer: 
You must have slept in the dew 
Last night? 

Tramp. 
My head was filled with the dew; and 
My locks with the drops of the night! 

Vallmer: 
How was your head filled with the dew? 

Tramp. 
From the clouds. 

Vallmer: 
Were you sleeping over here on Mt. Gibeon 
Up among the clouds? 

Tramp. 
No; the clouds were in my head 
Along with my pictures. 

Mary (to Vallmer) 
Cannot you see, dear Mr. Vallmer, that 
His intellect is clouded? A mighty 
Genius in ruins! 

Senator (to Mary) 
It seems to me, rather, my dear, that 
There is method in his madness. 

Vallmer: 
Well, sir, you are not as big a fool 
As you let on to be, are you? 

Tramp. 
Children and fools tell the truth! 

Vallmer: 
How do you justify yourself in your course' 
If your story is true you are wasting 
A lot of substance that should be given 
To the poor. 

Tramp. 
That is what Judas said. 

Vallmer: 
How do you know Judas said that? 

Tramp. 
I believe and therefore I speak. 

—92— 



Vallmer: 
Well, if you are such a great believer 
Suppose you play something apropos to the 
Mighty events, that are claimed to have transpired 
Around here. 

Tramp. 
What shal I play? 

Vallmer: 
Sailing around the moon will do. They 
Say it stood still, somewhere around 
Here! 

Tramp. 
Beware of sacrilege! 
I have no such records. 

Vallmer: 
Well, they say when Nero ruled over 
This country he danced while Rome 
Was burning; and Christians on fire, were 
The torches that lighted his gardens! 
Now play something apropos to those 
Tragic scenes, in the Eternal City. 

Tramp. 
Who will do the dancing? 

Vallmer: 
An electrified or angelized mummy 
Ought to be able to reproduce the scene 
Exactly as it occurred! 

Tramp. 
Who will be Nero? 

Vallmer: 
If it will help you any, T will 
Represent him! 

Tramp (to Mary) 
Do we have the permission of the lady 
To give this dance of death! 

Mary: 
Mr. Vallmer seems to be managing 
This to suit himself at his own inn! 

— 9'3>— 







Vallmer: 


On with 


the 


dance! 

Tramp. 


Let joy 


be unconfined? 






Vallmer: 






Yes. 






Tramp. 


The lid 


off? 





Vallmer: 
Yea. 
Tramp. 
Eighty miles an hour? 

Vallmer: 
Yes! Pull the throttle to the limit! 
(The tramp dances skillfully and wonderfully to 
music of the character indicated and Vallmer to stimu- 
late him dances madly himself) 

Tramp (turning to Vallmer) : 
Go it while you are young! Ha! ha! ha! 

(patting him familiarly.) 
You heat the devil! Ha! ha! ha! 
Let us see you beat hell! Ha! ha! ha! 

Vallmer (sobering up): 
Well sir, if you are an angel, you 
Must be a pretty bad one! 

Tramp. 
Wihat more would you expect of an angel 
Handicapped by an electrified mummy? 

Vallmer: 
Good angels do not go around 
Dancing like the devil, do they? 

Tramp. 
Joseph Jefferson acted well his part. 

Vallmer: 
Ha! ha! ha! Well you are not Joe 
Are you? 

Tramp. 
I did not say so. 

—94— 



Vallmer: 
Well, are you? 

Tramp: 
If they hear not Moses and the prophets 
They will not be persuaded though one 
Arose from the dead. 

Vallmer: 
That would depend upon, whether he should claim 
That he had come from some habitation of 
Liars. Such a claim as that of course, 
Would discredit his testimony in advance. 

Tramp: 
How would you know, where the witness 
Had come from, except his word? 

Vallmer: 
Then as I understand you, if you was 
In the other world, you would not 
Come back here as a witness? 

Tramp: 
No: I think Abraham is right in that 
Matter. He has been observing these things 
Ever since the Sphinx was born and his 
Judgment must be worth something. My 
Testimony would be merely cumulative evidence. 

Vallmer: 
Then according to your idea, if a man 
Is risen from the dead, he had better 
Keep still about it? 

Tramp: 
If a man should go around in the 
Community and let it be known that 
He had an idea in his head, that 
He had died, and is risen from the 
Dead, he would be considered insane. 

Vallmer: 
If I should see the grave opened 
Would I not believe? 

Tramp: 
You would see it. 

—95— 



Vallmer: 
But the credibility of the risen, as to 
Matters beyond, would still be up to 
The jury? 

Tramp: 
Believers would not need such evidence 
It being merely cumulative. The unbelieving 
Would reject it, along with the evidence 
Already introduced or offered. 

Vallmer: 
Then there may be a good many 
Risen and going around through this 
World! 

Tramp: 
There may be! There are more things in 
Heaven and earth than are dreamed of 
In our philosophy! 

Vallmer: 
In your lucid intervals you reason well. 

Tramp : 
If my present lucidity is established 
I am discharged from the case. 

Vallmer: 
But 'Who wil care for you, in 
Your next spasm of lunacy? 

Tramp: 
We will cross that bridge, when we 
Get to it! Meanwhile I am entitled 
To the presumption of sanity? 

Vallmer: 
Men are sometimes deluded on one 
Point, but sane on others. 

Tramp: 
If we adopt that test, you must get off 
The bench. 

Vallmer: 

Why so? 

Tramp: 

—96— 



No man is free from delusion. There 
Is a vein of madness in every man. 

Vallmer: 
If that is true, you must be 
Lugging some delusion around with you. 
I am curious to know what it is? 

Tramp: 
If I knew, I would lay it aside. 

Vallmer: 
Well now, if you please, let me see 
If I can establish your identity. You 
Will not be to blame, if I discover it 
Without your telling it? 

Tramp: 
A man is not to blame, for that which 
He cannot avoid. 

Vallmer: 
They say the ruling passion is strong 
In death? 

Tramp: 
Yes. 
Vallmer (presenting a flesk of wine) 
Joe have one on me. 

Tramp: 
I sweared off; but I wont count 
This once! Here is to your health, and 
Your families! And may you all 
Live long and prosper! (Drinks.) 

Vallmer: 
Ha! ha! ha! Well Joe you are all right. 

Tramp: 
I feel pretty good. 

Vallmer: 
Well, Joe are you immortal? 

Tramp: 
I have made a start. 

Vallmer: 
Now Joe, you have found out, by this time 
That man has no soul? 

—97— 



Tramp: 
If you say, you have no soul 
I will admit it. 

Vallmer: 
Neither have you! 

Tramp: 
I will not admit that. 

Vallmer: 
How is Gretchen? 

Tramp: 
Gretchen is charming! I have never seen 
A medchen charming like my Gretchen! 

Vallmer: 
Another lifetime honeymoon, I suppose. 

Tramp: 
The honey-moon of stage-folk is eternal! 

Vallmer: 
An eternal honeymoon! Senator he seems to go 
You one better! 

Senator: 
I see he does. 

Vallmer: 
Your tourist car must be fine? 

Tramp: 
Cushioned in green! Curtained in white! Gretchen 
Says the canopy is just heavenly! 

Vallmer: 
Adorned with pictures worth a thousand million? 

Tramp: 
Ah! if you could only see, the lights 
And shades and golden hues! 

Vallmer: 
What is the itinerary of this eternal 
Wedding trip? 

Tramp: 
At present we are going with one 
Of the planets around the sum! 

Vallmer: 
And so you and your chene medchen 

—98— 



Journey, on and on, forever and 
Ever! 

Tramp: 
While men come and go; as go 
They must! Methinks soon, doubtless very soon, 
The curtain will be lowered in your own 
Case! 

Vallmer: 
What put that delusion in your mind? 

Tramp: 
We must look beyond the scenes, if 
We would see the hand that looses 
The silver cord. 

Vallmer: 
I thought you drank to my health 
And wished me long life. 

Tramp: 
That <was on the stage. 

Vallmer: 
Well, now, let us leave the stage for 
For awhile, and Hamlet and all his methods, 
And have some words of truth and 
Soberness. If one should die, and was 
About to be risen, where would you 
Advise for his reappearance? 

Tramp: 
There is no precedent or claim of 
Anything of that kind in all the 
Literature of the world, except here in 
Palestine; and I would follotw the 
Precedent, if I had my choice in 
The matter. 

Vallmer: 
Did anything of that kind occur 
Here, except the alleged resurrection of 
The divinity of Christianity? 

—99— 



Tramp: 
Yes, after He arose, many of the saints 
Who slept, arose and went into 
The Holy City and appeared to many. 

Vallmer : 
How do you know that? 

Tramp: 
I believe, and therefore I speak. 

Vallmer: 
Well, Senator, you may take the witness. A 
Man with a delusion like that, would not have 
Far to go to reach the asylum. He is 
An insane actor and imagines he is 
Joseph Jefferson; but tries to conceal his 
Delusion with the cunning often seen 
In lunacy. He is probably some preacher 
Crazed by higher criticism and love 
Of sensationalism, and ending -with a 
Mania for the stage. 

Senator: 
It seems to me there is method in 
His madness. 

Vallmer: 
No; he is mad as a March hare! 

Senator: 
Some have entertained angels unawares. 

Vallmer: 
We 1 ' if he is an angel, he must be 
A destroying angel; for I saw homicidal 
Mania in his eye, in that dance. 

Tramp: 
Except ye repent ye shall all likewise 
Perish! Wisdom crieth without; she iittereth 
Her voice in the streets saying: Why do the 
Heathen rage and the people imagine anything 
Is vain; and set at naught the 
Annointed! He that sitteth in the heavens 
Shall laugh! The Lord shall have them 
In derision! 

—100— 



Vallmer: 
Your mind seems to be wandering! What do you 
Mean by such a blow out as that? 

Tramp: 
The engine whistles at the crossing! 

Vallmer: 
Well Joe, or bird, or beast or devil or 
Whatever you may be, how much do 
I owe you for that dance? 

Tramp: 
Three hundred million. 

Vallmer: 
That is a good deal of money! 

Tramp: 
Dreams come high these days! 

Vallmer: 
Well Joe, charge it. 

Tramp: 
All right! But I ought to have had 
Another hundred million! 

Vallmer: 
Well Joe, you could have had it, if 
You had asked it! Ask and ye shall receive! 
And ask a plenty while you are asking! 
If you would be a goblin among goblins 
You must gobble 

With the goblins and gobble everything 
In sight! 

Tramp: 
Do we get what we ask for? 

Vallmer: 
Yes. 

Tramp: 



Every time? 



Just as we ask it? 



Vallmer: 

Yes. 
Tramp: 

— 101— 



Vallmer: 

Yes. 
Tramp: 
Then I want your head! 

Vallmer: 
W{hy so! 

Tramp: 
That is the way bad dancing accounts 
Are settled over here! 

Vallmer: 
There is no precedent for that over 
Here, I hope? 

Tramp: 
John the Baptist lost his head that way. 

Vallmer: 
How do you know that occurred? 

Tramp: 
I believe, therefore I speak. 
Vallmer: 
Wiell, these disguised angels are not 
Dangerous, are they? 

Tramp: 
It is not wise to trifle with them 
Whether disguised or otherwise. 
Do not monkey with the buzz-saw! 

Vallmer: 
The idea of an angel using slang! 

Tramp: 
That proverb is beginning to be used 
By the best speakers and writers, and 
Is worthy of a place in the classics! 

Vallmer: 
I thought the angels were ministering spirits 
And never hurt anybody? 

Tramp: 
You forget the angel that destroyed 
The first born in all the region 
Overlooked by the Sphinx! Justice and judgment 
Are attributes of God, as well as mercy! 

— 10 2— 



Vallmer: 
Well, you would not scare us with 
The idea that the King of kings is with a 
Poor tramp like you, 'would you? 

Tramp: 
He said, when ye feed the hungry 
And visit the sick or in prison, 
Ye do it unto him! 

Vallmer: 
You do not mean to say that 
He is in the felon's cell? 

Tramp: 
He is there by virtue of the omnipresent 
Spirit that raised him from the dead. 

Vallmer: 
Well, we ought to get him out of 
There, in some way? 

Tramp: 
What is your plan? 

Vallmer: 
The Senator here has a plan of 
Converting the penitentiary into an asylum. 

Tramp: 
That is a grand thought. 

Vallmer: 
But what do we gain by it, if 
We shall leave him in the maniac's 
Cell, plus this new ward of quasi-maniacs? 

Tramp: 
Beauty for ashes, the oil of joy 
For mourning and the garments of praise 
For the spirit of heaviness. 

Vallmer: 
Another singular blow-out! Your lucid interval 
Seems to be passing off! How can beauty 
Be derived from ashes? 

Tramp: 
A railway line is a jewel, that 
Has good ballast; and the road-bed 

— 1'0'S— - 



Is stronger. Methinks I see the picture 
In the sky! The sea of glass 
Mingled with fire! The engine on the 
Glistening rail, with hopeful hearts 
In ceaseles flow! 

Vallmer: 
Much study of the clews and labyrinths 
Of an alleged optimism has certainly 
Made you mad! 

Tramp: 
My fish is lost and my line 
Is broken! Ah, but he was a beauty! 
(Exit.) 

Vallmer: 
Ha! ha! ha! His mind is in the happy 
Hunting ground 'where the fishing is 
Good! Ha! ha! ha! I am sorry Joe, 
Yo>u lost your fish and broke your line! 
Beter luck next time, I hope! 
Here is to the succes of all good 
Fishermen, whether their line be long 
Or short or broken! And may you all 
Live long and prosper! For methinks 
We are all a long time dead! 
Vanity of vanities is beter that this 
Vagary of vagaries, — this extract of Christo-Science 
Known as optimism! The dead have risen! 
The sick are healed! Fish stories galore! 
Wildly weird and weirdly wild! I have lost 
My fish and my line is broken! Ha! ha! ha 
Oh, my heart! My heart! My heart! 
(In pain and bewilderment he clasps his breast 
conclusively and fall in sudden death. The 
Senator rushes to him quickly and opens 
his vesture. ) 

Mary (in consternation): 
This is awful! Is he dead? 

Senator (nervously): 
I am afraid so. 

— 10 4 — 



Guide (entering) 
What is the matter, sir? 

Senator ( dejectedly ) : 
Our friend seems to have fallen dead! 

Guide: 
Is it possible? 

(Rushes quickly to the remains and makes 
examination. ) 

Senator: 
It seems to be a case of heart failure. 

Guide (rising) : 
I sympathize deeply with you both. 

Senator: 
It is indeed sad! Very sad! 

Guide: 
What can I do for you? 

Senator: 
Please notify the authorities of this , 

Sudden death; and we will wait 
Here until you return. (Exit Guide.) 

Mary: 
How sudenly his life went out! 

Senator (meditatively): 
Poor Vallmer! He died without hope; and 
His friends mourn, with but little, if 
Any hope! 

Mary : 
It is hard to think that all 
That intelligence has disappeared forever! 

Senator: 
How strongly that question presses upon us, 
As -we stand in the shadow of this 
Sad event! 

Mary: 
It is hard to think we will never 
See him again! 

Senator: 
The destiny of those who die, without 
Faith in the risen Christ is to me, 

—105— 



A mystery! We do not expect to see 
A trained horse or pet animal again. 
If a biped goes through life, with 
No more conception of divine truth, than 
A quadruped, what hope is there in 
The one case, more than the other? 

Mary: 
Do you doubt your own imortality? 

Senator: 
As I understand the scenario of the 
Crystal river, those who believe in the 
Risen Christ and submit to and 
Harmonize with the divine volition, will live 
And reign with Him forever! 

Mary: 
So, you rest in that confidence? 

Senator: 
Yes; and do the best I can from day 
To day, and leave the evolution of 
My life, to divine supervision, and thank 
Him for his grace past, present and 
Future — the quality of mercy, grace and 
Loving kindness, always being present with 
Me — the quantity, whether it be more or 
Less, being with him, or for him to say. 
And I seek grace to serve him acceptably 
With reverence and circumspection. For our 
God, in parable, is a consuming fire! 
And children learn by experience and 
Observation to deal circumspectly with 
Fire, or any other phase of power! 

Mary : 
And so you think we can only mourn 
For our friend as those who have 
Little, or no hope, of seeing their friends again? 

Senator: 
We know this: That infinite mercy and 
Wisdom will do right! And we will leave 
The case in his hands; being glad to know 

— 106 — 



It is in such good hands, while we 
Wonder at the mystery of faith, on 
The one hand, and unbelief on the 
Other hand that everywhere abound! 
(Enter official and deputies.) 
Official: 
I am sorry, my dear sir, to learn 
Of the suden death of your friend, 
But it is my official duty to take charge 
Of the remains. 

Senator: 
You answer to the -Coroner in America. 
Yes sir. 
Senator: 
Let the law take its course; and thereafter 
We will confer as to the shipment. 

(Exit official and deputies with remains.) 
Mary: 
That awful prophecy of death! 

Senator: 
Beware of the fallacy! Post propter hoc, ergo hoc! 

Mary: 
I am troubled in spirit by it! 

Senator: 
It may have been a mere coincidence, my dear. 

Mary: 
I would be less disturbed if I only 
Knew who that tramp was. 
Senator: 
I respected his silence on that point. 

Mary: 
He may have been Joseph Jefferson, unawares! 

Senator: 
He may have been! If not, he was 
A wonderful imitator! I suppose you 
Noticed I asked him no questions? 
Mary: 
Why not? 

— 107— 



Senator: 
He was insane or a mighty angel 
Or impersonator. 

Mary: 
So you think the death of Vallmer may have been 
A mere coincidence? 

Senator: 
We will treat it in that way. 

Mary: 
I see you still believe in one God 
One bible and one wife? 

Senator: 
Resolutely so! I do not care to talk 
To the angels, knowingly, until I attain 
To the other world, and become a peer 
Among them, and have a jury of my 
Peers in the settlement of the deep questions 
They may raise; where I will have an 
Advocate with the Father, who is able 
To take care of me! The angels may visit 
Me, unawares; otherwise not! For Abraham 
Has revoked their credentials; and if any 
Trouble arises, while they are confessedly 
Around, they are liable to be blamed 
For it, whether justly so or no! 

Mary: 
But suppose this was not a coincidence 
And this Tramp is an angel 
Ill-concealed, and loosed the silver 
Cord of Vallmer, why not yours also? 

Senator: 
I am ready for my peerage! 
Mary: 

And so my loss would be your gain? 

Senator: 
Death is certainly promotion to them 
That believe in the risen Christ. 

— 1'OS — ■ 



Mary: 
If we could only look forward so 
Confidently to the future of our 
Friend, in this hour of his terrible 
Demise! 

Senator: 
With God all things are possible that 
He wills to do. Let this be our great 
Consolation as we leave his case, as well as 
Our own in his hands, and submit 
To his will, whether in weal or woe. 

Mary: 
I am distressed by this lonely death 
In foreign lands, without kith or kin. 

Senator: 
It is sad, my dear! No tear in all 
The world but ours! 

Mary: 
My heart is heavy! I am acquainted 
With mystery and dejection, and greatly 
Depressed by this unsearchable providence. 

Senator: 
There is a hand to help, my dear, 
In an hour like this, if we seek 
It! 

Mary (kneeling, sings) 

Come unto me all ye that labor 

And are heavy laden, and I will give 

You rest! 

Take my yoke upon you, and learn 

Of me, and ye shall find rest 

Unto your souls! 

For I am meek and lowly in heart 

And my yoke is easy, and 

My burden is light! 

(Stage is slowly darkened, the Senator standing, 
while his head is drooped in sympathy.) 

— 109— 



Kinetoscopic Views: 
(1) The Holy City. 
(■2) The Coliseum at Rome. 

(3) TheParthenon of Athens. 

(4) The Sphinx. 

(5) The Weeping Willow. 

Curtain. 



110— 



ACT VI. 
[Scene: Apartment House in Chicago. The Sena- 
tor is seated in meditation in his parlor in the first 
story. Phone-booth on the left. Dr. Mayo is read- 
ing in his study in the second story. Phone-booth 
on the right. The side of each booth, to the audience 
is open.] 

Irene: 
Father you wanted to see me? 

Senator: 
I sent for you, my daughter on a 
Matter that breaks your father's heart. Twenty 
Years ago, I asked the father of your 
Mother, what Dr. Raymond has asked of 
Me tonight.! He is coming for his answer 
And I leave you with him. For this 
Cause shall a man leave his father 
And mother and cleave unto his wife. (Exit.) 
(Enter Dr. Raymond.) 
Dr. Raymond: 
I am glad to see you, my dear 
Irene! Your father has left my case 
With you? 

Irene: 
A woman should have time to think 
Over a matter of such great importance 
To her! (Smiling) But you have popped the 
Question so nicely, the battle is more 
Than half won. 

Dr. Raymond: 
I will call tomorrow for your 
Answer. I have an important Cesarian 
Operation, or I would be glad to spend 
The evening here in the halo of 
Parental love that surounds you, and fill 
The cup to the brim with a lover's 
Devotion. 

Irene: 
What is a Cesarian operation, Doctor? 

— Ill— 



Dr Raymond: 
When Caesar was born, it was necessary 
To make the delivery through the side; 
And the incisions, of the patient for 
That purpose, are known in surgical science 
As the Cesarian operation. 

Irene (astonished): 
Is this a possibility in the honeyed 
Words of man to 'woman? 

Dr Raymond: 
Truth compels me to say it is. 

Irene (still astonished): 
And this is a possible culmination of 
The feast you invite me to, by 
The cup filled to the brim? 

Dr. Raymond: 
My dear, the fall from love to science 
Is too great a shock! 

Irene: 
It seems to me that love-making 
Is a kind of war, against one, who 
By the customs of this world does not 
Bear the sword! If wedlock exposes her 
To the operation you describe! 

Dr. Raymond: 
I do not understand your parable. 

Irene: 
The hospitals abound with this class of 
Patients and the surgeons are getting rich 
If marriage is a mere sheath of a 
Knife, dagger or sword, woman has the 
Right to test the mettle of that sword. 
If a tiger is assailed by a spearman 
It has the right to defend itself 
With the weapons it possesses. The right 
To defend against the sword inheres 
In woman as well as in man! 

—112— 



Dr. Raymond: 
The right to use the sword does not 
Necessarily imply that it must be used. 
When one of His diciples cut off 
The servant's ear, the Master told him 
To put up his sword and healed it. 

Irene: 
Christ was a sacrifice for sin. But 
The sacrifice of woman can no more 
Atone for sin, than the sacrifice of man 
In war. 

Dr. Raymond: 
Lincoln thought that the Civil War, was 
An atonement, by the sword, for every 
Drop of blood, drawn by the lash, 
Drop for drop. 

Irene: 
That sacrifice was in vain, until it 
Developed an inspiration to die to make 
Men free, as Christ died to make them 
Holy! So the availing sacrifice in that 
Strife was made on the cross! 
Dr. Raymond: 
I cannot now discuss the mystery of the 
Cross! It is enough to say there is madness 
In your idea, that woman must sheath 
Per chance, a dagger in her lover's heart! 

Irene: 
I am just and love must insist 
On justice. A man bearing a sword 
Is only entitled to that which he conquers. 
You must conquer me or I can never 
Be your wife! 

Dr. Raymond: 
What madness! 

Irene: 
I will bring two swords! You must wrest 
One of them from me if you 
Would 'win the hand that holds it! 

—113— 



Dr Raymond: 
I cannot consider this matter now. My 
Patient is wating for me, and I 
Moist take my leave. 

Irene: 
There are other surgeons in the case? 

Dr. Raymond: 
Yes; I am only called in consultation. 

Irene: 
Then we must settle this matter to-night. 

Dr. Raymond: 
Perhaps I had better stay and reason 
You out of this delusion! Excuse me 
A moment and I will cancel my 
Engagement, by phone. 

(He enters booth and calls Central for No. 6G6. 
The phone of Dr. Mayo, rings and he enters booth.) 
(Exit Irene.) 

Dr. Raymond: 
Is this Dr. Mayo? 

Dr. Mayo: 
Yes. 
Dr. Raymond: 
I will have to be excused from our 
Case this evening, Dr. 

Dr. Mayo: 
I am sorry to hear that Dr. Raymond! 
We would like your counsel very much! 
What is the trouble? 

Dr. Raymond: 
I have an important case of my own! 

Dr. Mayo: 
Can you not postpone it? 

Dr. Raymond: 
No; I am required to attend to it 
Right now! 

Dr. Mayo: 
You are not hurt yourself? 

—114— 



Dr. Raymond: 
No; it seems to be a case of lunacy 
In a very dear friend of mine, but 
Of a type I have never seen before! 
Nor heard of! Nor read about in 
The books! 

Dr. Mayo: 
How does the malady exhibit itself? 

Dr. Raymond: 
I will discuss it with you, when 
I see yo<u. It is an offshoot of 
Some idea that was developed in 
The Garden of Eden! 

Dr. Mayo: 
Well we will excuse you and get along 
The best we can. 

Dr. Raymond: 
Be very careful Doctor! She is one of the 
Grandest women that lives! She is not 
One of the kind of women that think 
They know more than God. She thinks 
That he has made woman on as 
Good a plan as he could devise! 

Dr. Mayo: 
Well, I do not see how the plan 
Could be improved upon myself. Both 
Man and woman are fearfully and 
Wonderfully made! 

Dr. Raymond: 
How does her husband stand the outlook? 

Dr. Mayo: 
He seems to be in greater distress about it. 
Than she is. 

Dr. Mayo: 
That is often the case. 
Men are not as heartless as women 
Think they are. 

Dr Raymond: 
Wjell, success to you. I may get around 

—11-5— 



There, in an hour or so, if my 
Lunatic does not kill me! 

(Dr. Mayo resumes his reading; and Dr. Raymond 
re-enters the parlor.) 

(Irene reenters the parlor, with two swords. A 
star is on the front part of her dress, and the skirt 
reaches a little below the knee.) 

Dr. Raymond: 
What does that star mean? 
Irene: 
I am a candidate for membership in the 
Star-brigade! 

Dr. Raymond: 
What is that? 

Irene: 
They that turn many to righteousness shall sliine 
As the stars forever. 

Dr Raymond: 
You look rather as though you were dressed 
For private theatricals. 

Irene: 
I am dressed to kill! 

Dr. Raymond: 
If a man marries a lunatic with his eyes 
Wide open, he should stick to his bargain! 

Irene (tendering weapons): 
You may have the choice of swords, Doctor; 
They are of equal mettle! Papa brought 
Them from the war! 

Dr. Raymond: 
How can I wantonly jeopardize the life 
Of one I love? You can have my 
Heart's blood! Oh mad one! But ho>w 
Can I shed one drop of the precious 
Blood of the woman I love? 

(Enter Senator and stands at entrance.) 
Irene: 
It is cowardly to come after one with 
A sword that bears no sword. I 

— 11.6r- 



Can never love you as a wife 

Ought, except you wrest the sword from 

Me. You will then have the right 

To lead me captive to the altar. 

For then I am defenseless; and do 

No violence to the law and duty 

Of self-defense. If you jeopardize your 

Life for me, I will do no violence 

To my sense of justice in entering 

Into peril for you! 

Dr. Raymond: 
The husband suppports the wife by the sweat 
Of his brow. 

Irene: 
I cannot enter into marriage on the basis 
Of barter and sale. I am financially 
Independent and do not need to marry 
For money. 

Dr. Raymond: 
How then would a rich girl ever be able 
To marry? 

Irene: 
Sacrifice, on ycur part, is the only thing, 
That will justify sacrifice en my part. 
I could love you if you should endanger 
Your life in an attempt to rescue me 
From fire or other peril. But there 
Being no danger, now present, I 
See no oportunity for jeopardy, except 
To attempt to wrest the sword from me. 
A woman must know in some way 
That her husband loves her. 

Dr. Raymond: 
I might give you a good chastisement 
With the rod! About a thousand years 
Ago, William of Normandy, satisfied his 
Sweet-heart of his royal affection, in 
That way! 

—117— 



Irene (smiling) : 
You could not very well do that 
While I hold this sword! 

Dr. Raymond: 
The fact that a man proposes to stake 
His happiness on you for life, is evidence 
In itself. 

Irene: 
It is evidence; but not sufficient! If 
My faith-faculty is weak, I suppose 
I must suffer for it! 

Dr. Raymond: 
But suppose I should happen to kill you? 

Irene: 
I take that chance. I would rather die 
Than marry a man, without sufficient evidence 
Corroborative of his declaration of affection! 

Dr. Raymond: 
If I was in peril of some kind 
Would you not jeopardize your life 
For me? 

Irene: 
That is not the situation. 

Dr. Raymond: 
I am in jeopardy of being an old 
Bachelor! A horrible fate! 

Irene: 
Well, then make sacrifice for some girl; 
Or marry some one that needs your 
Money! If you are willing to stake 
The life of both of us, methinks 
That neither of us will ever have 
Occasion to consult a divoroe attorney! 

Senator (approaching) : 
She is right Doctor, under the law of faith. 

Dr. Raymond: 
I find myself involved in a great mystery! 
Her position amounts to lunacy; but she 
Fortifies it with marvelous ingenuity — a 

—US— 



Phase of madness, I have never seen 

Ere this. She must have been under some 

Strange prenatal influence; as her insanity 

Seems to be congenital. Did you or 

Her mother have any planetary superstition 

Before she was born? 

Senator (smiling) : 
We figured a good deal, in those days 
On a life-time honeymoon; and as to 
How we could stay the moon, without 
Disturbing the stars in their courses. 

Dr. Raymond: 
How did your lifetime honeymoon turn out? 

Senator: 
It seems to be improving with age! 

Dr. Raymond: 
Well, Senator, I would like an amiable 
Conceit, like that, in my own family; 
And if that is all the hereditary taint 
There is in the case, I will make 
This sword test, on condition, that 
If I shed one drop of your daughter's 
Blood, you will slay me immediately! 

Senator : 
That would make me a murderer. 
Dr Raymond: 
But duelling is prohibited by law. 

Senator: 
A contest between friends or lovers 
To wrest the sword w r ould not be 
A duel. 

Dr. Raymond: 
The situation is a hard one. This girl 
Has amazing brilliancy and I cannot give 
Her up. 

Senator: 
The untutored Indians race for the girl 
And the spoils belong to the victor. 

—119— 



Dr. Raymond: 
But our civilization is not barbarian. 

Senator: 
What shall we say then as to the political 
Race? 

Dr. Raymond: 
Senator, is there no way that we 
Can overcome this strange idea that 
Has found lodgment in your daughter's 
Mind? 

Senator: 
The better way is to let her faith 
Or conception of the situation run its 
Course. We may be able to find 
An outlet farther down the line. 

Dr. Raymond (taking his sword): 
Very well. 

Irene: 
Are you ready? 

Dr. Raymond: 
Do me the kindness to begin the contest. 
I do not want it to be said 
Of me that I ever made an assault 
Upon a woman. 

Irene: 
No! You are to conquer me. 

Dr. Raymond: 
Irene will you not pierce my heart 
And end this madness? 

Irene: 
This is no time for gallantry. That 
May come later. 

Dr. Raymond: 
Be on your guard. 

(He assails her and they fence briskly. He gradual^ 
ly assumes and remains on the defensive.) 
Irene (as they pause) : 
Dr. Raymond you are not seeking to wrest 
My sword from me? 

—120— 



Dr. Raymond (determinedly): 
Be on your guard. 

(He assumes the offensive and they fence fiercely, 
and the Doctor is wounded in the cheek.) 
Irene (in consternation) : 
Oh , Doctor, you are wounded in the cheek! 

Dr. Raymond: 
W(hat else did you expect? 
(Places his handkerchief to the wound.) 

Irene: 
The sight of blood nearly makes me faint! 

Dr. Raymond: 
Excuse me a moment and I will phone 
Dr. Mayo to stitch up this wound. 
(Enlers booth and calls as before, and Dr. Mayo en- 
ters his booth.) 

Dr. Raymond: 
Is that you, Doctor? 

Dr. Mayo: 
Yes. 
Dr. Raymond: 
I wish you would come down a 
Moment and stitch up a litle wound 
For me. 

Dr. Mayo: 
All right. I will be down immediately. 
(They both leave booths.) 

(Enter Dr. Mayo.) 
Dr. Mayo: 
What is the matter, Doctor? 

Dr. Raymond: 
Oh, Irene and I have just been having 
A little discussion -with swords; and 
I received a little wound here in 
The cheek. Sew it up, Doctor, please! 
Dr Mayo (sewing up wound): 
What does this discusion mean? 

Dr. Raymond: 
Oh, just two fools met. 

—121— 



Irene (sweetly) : 
Does it hurt much? 

Rr. Raymond: 
Oh, do not mention it. 

Irene (to Dr. Mayo): 
The stitches are not painful, in a 
Cesarian operation are they? 
Dr. Mayo: 
No; the only severity in that operation 
Is the confinement until the incisions 
Heal. 

Irene: 
How long is that? 

Dr. Mayo: 
About as long as the moon to go 
Round the earth; or a hen to hatch 
Her chickens; or typhoid to run 
Its course. 

Irene : 
Is there any connection between those 
Phenomena? 

Dr. Mayo: 
They are distantly related by mystery; 
Otherwise they seem to be mere coincidences. 

Dr. Raymond: 
If I should contract typhoid fever from 
Exposure in my professional rounds 
I suppose you would take care of me? 

Irene: 
The idea that I would not take care 
Of my husband in typhoid! 

Dr. Raymond: 
I do not believe you would be so 
Heartless. 

Dr. Mayo: 
If you will suspend this discussion for 
A moment, I will cover the wound 
With court-plaster. (Applies it.) 

— 122 — 



Irene (to Dr. Raymond): 
Does court-plaster derive its name 
From courting? 

Rr. Raymond: 
I never looked up the derivation. 

Dr. Mayo: 
Ha! ha! ha! You might look it up 
Doctor, and favor us with a thesis, at 
The next meeting of our surgical association. 

Dr Raymond: 
I will draw on my general information 
And give you my ideas now, Doctor, 
If you can stay and hear them ! 

Dr. Mayo: 
Ha! ha! ha! I will wait for your more 
Deliberate views. I must excuse myself now. 
As I have an important matter, waiting 
On me. Ha! ha! ha! (Exit.) 

Dr. Raymond : 
Senator, I used to thing that Irene 
And I had some sense. 

Irene (kisses her father): 
These horrid men! I shall never marry 
Anybody! It is a terrible thing to get 
Married! 

Dr Raymond: 
Celibacy is worse! Wihere will you stay? 

Irene: 
With Papa and Mamma. 

Dr Raymond: 
If they should die, then what? 

(Irene (meditatively) 
It would be lonely — very, very lonely 
If Papa and Mamma should die. 

Dr Raymond: 
You have no legal claim on them? 

Irene: 
I am positively charmed with your 
Brutality! I feel like I was being driven 

—123— 



With goads, like an ox, or hitched 
To a plow, as they do in Deutchland! 

Senator: 
Do not be hasty, my dear! We will bring 
This matter out clearly by a little patience. 
I want you both to see that there 
Is a sense in which man cannot 
Wrest the sword from woman. She can 
Surrender the sword and become as an 
Animal ruled over by man; but I do not 
Think the Doctor wishes to marry a virtual 
Animal, nor be wedded to a slave. 

Dr Raymond: 
I do not yet understand your thought? 

Senator: 
W,e conquered the south and justice submits 
To the arbitrament of the sword; while the 
Defeated party has the consolation that 
It was 'worth fighting for; and both 
Parties think more highly of each other 
Than before the conflict. 

Dr Raymond: 
Then, if I do not wrest the sword 
From your daughter, at the peril of 
My life, I must marry an animal, or 
Advocate race suicide, by example, if not 
By precept. 

Senator: 
Yes, or you must disarm her by some 
Other sacrifice or jeopardy, that satisfies 
Her sense of justice. 

Dr Raymond: 
Senator, I will take that sword, or 
Perish! 

(They renew the conflict fiercely and the Doctor 
loses his sword.) 

Senator: 
Let me again remind you Doctor that 
Man cannot wrest the sword from woman! 

— 124 — 



You are blind! You cannot see the 
Angel that is upholding her hands! 

Dr. Raymond: 
What Angel? 
Senator: 
The angel with the flaming sword that 
Keeps the gates of the Garden of Eden. 

Dr Raymond: 
Where is the Garden of Eden? 

Sentinel: 
Where true love is, there is the Garden 
Of Eden! 

Dr Raymond: 
Men often do get wives in this country 
Without running against ideas of this 
Kind! 

Senator : 
Before they get a wife, imbued with 
A sense of justice and thus worth 
Anything more than an animal, their hearts 
Are often broken, and they would 'welcome 
Death. Insanity sometimes sets in. And 
How often relief is found in the 
Divorce court, from the intolerable condition 
Arising from the feeling in the wife 
That she is giving more than she receives. 

Dr Raymond: 
If the woman is void of justice, then what? 

Senator: 
Then how easy it is for a richer 
Man to take advantage of the 
Situation and lead the animal captive 
With his showy equipage, and tinsel 
Of wealth, or other attraction. 

Dr Raymond: 
What then is the remedy? 
Senator: 
The only sword, as it seems to me, that 
Can conquer woman is the sword that 

—125— 



Pierced the heart of the Son of God! 

Otherwise than that man must rule his 

Wife; and has always done so, in all 

Unchristian lands, — the primal curse pronounced 

Upon woman reducing her to a state 

Of subjection, being the natural result of 

But mitigated by her loss of the quality 

Of justice. 

Dr Raymond: 
How does the cross affect this situation? 

Senator: 
That curse was lifted by the divine 
Decree that the seed of the woman should 
Bruise the head of the serpent and it 
Should bruise his heel. That heel 
Was bruised four thousand years later 
Vicariously, on the cross; and that vicarious 
Sword is the only sword that woman 
Can or ever has accepted and be just. 

Dr. Raymond: 
Is that the reason that young men, and 
Women, grown up in the church together, 
Marry so readily? 

Senator: 
Yes; they mate as readily as doves. 

Dr. Raymond: 
And so you think the sword of the 
Crucifixion turns the edge of the naming 
Sword that guards the gate to paradise? 

Senator: 
Look Doctor, at the christian wives and 
Mothers in Christendom; and compare their 
Glory and honor, with the condition of 
Females in all tribes and people, where 
Christ has not been received, and be 
Convinced! 

Dr. Raymond: 
Why do you speak of them as females? 

— 12 6 — 



Senator: 
To distinguish them from the women 
That are the glory of Christendom! 

Dr. Raymond: 
I do not yet understand the philosophy 
Of this plan of salvation as related to 
Wedlock? 

Senator: 
The cross relieves the christian wife and 
Mother of the sense of injustice in her situation; 
Not by destroying the quality of justice 
Within her, but, by fulfilling its demands. 

Dr. Raymond: 
How so? 
Senator: 
Christ, as it seems to her, has made a 
Greater sacrifice for her, than she can ever 
Possibly make for her husband and children! 
Ke bought the home as well as the church; 
And hence she gives herself for her family 
Freely: without doing violence to her 
Sense of justice; which must perish, in 
View of the greater sacrifice she makes 
For the family than man, unless her 
Conscience is fed or satisfied by the 
Still greater divine sacrifice for her. 
Otherwise than that woman is swindled when 
She enters the marriage relation. 

Dr. Raymond: 
What seems to be the divine purpose 
In all this? 

Senator: 
Out of these sacrifices that are made by 
Christian men and women, in their various 
Relations, in recognition of the sacrifice 
Of Christ for sin, God evolves love — 
A divine nectar — and invites us all 
To sup with Him! No phase of this love 
Is more precious to Him than mother-love; 

—127— 



Except the love on the cross, wherein 
Christ died for his enemies; in the midst 
Of an awful scene of desolation, only 
Relieved from pessimisism, by the 
Inextinguishable quality of optimism in God, 
Evincing itself in tracery, sublime, by the 
Presence of his mother, in a sacred trio 
Of Marys, and the commission of her 
To his bosom-friend and disciple, after 
The remainder of the smitten and scattered 
Flock forsook him and fled. 

Dr. Raymond: 
How does Christianity relieve woman from 
The curse of subjection? 

Senator: 
In christian -wedlock, the husband and wife 
Are joint sovereigns over the family, charged 
With the right and duty of construing 
The divine word, as related to the 
Family. This opens a field for the 
Exercise of the judicial quality, by both 
Of them. 

Dr. Raymond: 
But suppose these two sovereigns clash? 

Senator: 
An appeal to the divine word will settle 
All such difficulties. 

Dr. Raymond: 
But suppose they differ as to the 
Meaning of the word? 

Senator: 
The party holding the affirmative, should make 
All reasonable concession; and does so in all 
Concurrency of which we have any knowledge 
From the play-ground up to the joint 
Sovereignty over the sea. 

Dr. Raymond: 
But in the epistle to Timotheus, the 

— 128 — 



Apostle declares the husband should rule 
His house. 

Senator: 
Concurrently, however, with his wife! As in 
That same letter she is declared to be 
The guide of the house; which, in the original 
Means despot. Hence it is clear that 
The husband should let the despot 
Have her way, as long as she runs 
The home according to her conceptions of 
The divine record, to which they both 
Appeal. 

Dr. Raymond: 
You seem to believe in equality of 
Man and wife? 

Senator: 
The wife of the Indian follows rather than 
Promenades with him. On the other hand 
It is pleasant to see one of our American 
Girls in the joy of her first promenade 
With one of her neighbor boys. She 
Is a little proud, perhaps, of the 
Concurrency! Holds her head pretty high 
Sometimes, in her newly found dignity! But 
I suppose, I will be about as proud 
When in the dance of the family of natioms 
The governor of the feast shall issue the 
Divine call: Promenade all! 

Dr. Raymond: 
Do you still have that dream Senator? 

Senator : 
It looked dark a score of years ago 
When the echo from Mduila resounded at 
Port Arthur! But the prospects are getting 
Brighter, every year. The concurrency of 
The Atlantic with the Pacific, via Panama, 
Looks as though righteousness and peace 
Have married and started on a 
Honeymoon, without end! 

—129— 



Dr. Raymond: 
As you view it, then, an ideal marriage 
Involves the exaltation of woman? 

Senator: 
When we were married my wife thought 
She had made something of an 
Acquisition. She went back to the 
Primary arithmetic and figured, whereas 
One times one, is only one, two times 
One is two, And when Irene was 
Born, we said, three times one are 
Three. And when she marries, four 
Times one will be four. And 
If God should give us a grand 
Child, then there will be five; and 
I will be very thankful — very, very 
Thankful! O! how devoutly I will praise 
The Giver of good gifts for His grace! 

Dr. Raymond: 
So you hold, the regeneration of this world 
Involves the rescue of woman by the 
Sacrifice of the Son of God! 

Senator: 
Yes, we lost our paradise through her; 
And we must go where we lost it, 
If we would find it; And go in 
Where woman walks abreast of man 
Rather than follows him! 
Irene: 
I see, dear father, the crystal river, of 
Which, you and mamma so often sing! 
I never understood it until now! 

Senator: 
My dear daughter, dearer to me than 
The apple of my eye, as the side of 
Christ was pierced for you, His child, 
Will you not suffer incision of your side, 

— 130— 



For your child, if the surgeon's knife 

Shall be nece'ssary? 

(She hands her father her sword and kisses him.) 

And you Dr. ! Will you not look to 

That same sword and the divine record 

Of it, as the only possible source of 

Equality and harmony in the home, and 

A stream of conjugal love, pure and clear 

As crystal, flowing from the throne 

And heart of God? 

Dr. Raymond (meditatively): 
The mystery of marriage! The mystery of 
The church. Two great blessed mysteries! 

Senator: 
The man who understands these truths, and 
Is able to deliver his wife, from the knife. 
By teaching her them and thus lead her 
To Him, whose yoke is easy and burden 
Light, is worthy of my daughter; otherwise 
Not; for marriage is an awful failure 
Unless through its mystery, the husband and wife 
Find their way up to the mystery 
Of the Head of the church; which He calls 
His bride, and gave himself for it. 

Dr. Raymond: 
Your parable, Senator, involves a very 
High opinion of a christian woman! 
Senator : 
(Pouring out three glasses of wine.) 
Let us drink together this toast: "The woman 
Is the glory of the man." 
All: 
"The woman is the glory of the man!" 
(All drink.) 
Dr. Raymond: 
What kind of a woman, Senator, did 
The apostle have in mind, when he 
Penned that beautiful sentiment. 

—131— 



Senator: 

Methinks it was a christian woman. 
Irene 
(Taking the Dr's arm affectionately): 
If the wife should be a christian, what 
Should the husband be? 

Dr. Raymond: 
What is good enough for the women 
And children, is good enough for man! 

Irene: 
But suppose one or the other continues 
In unbelief? 

Senator: 
Let the unbelieving depart if they will. 
But I will never leave my wife 
Whether she believes as I do or no! 

Dr. Raymond: 
Where do you get that sentiment, Senator? 

Senator: 
From the Apostle Paul. 

Dr. Raymond: 
He was a wonderful jurist. 
Senator: 
I have often noticed the admiration of 
Surgeons for the legal profession. 

Dr. Raymond: 
The love of truth, in all the learned 
Professions is consolidating them into 
A Mutual Admiration Society. 

Irene: 
What are the learned professions? 

Dr. Raymond: 
Every avocation under the sun, requires 
Scientific knowledge. 

Irene: 
I have the degree of Mistress of Home Science! 

Dr. Raymond: 
My wagon is hitched to a star! 

— 132 — 



Irene: 
Vvfhen did you take the degree of 
The Science of Beautiful Thought? 

(Enter Mary, pausing at entrance.) 

Dr. Raymond: 
You remember the night we were on 
The crystal river? 

Irene: 
Yes. 
Dr. Raymond: 
Well, that night, a kiss that glanced off 
The moon twenty years ago, and 'was lost 
Among the stars, glancing from one to 
Another, finally got its bearings, and took 
A bee line for earth, and hit me 
Between the eyes, as we were anchored 
In the shadow of the oak; and that 
Was the last of me! Wireless wings have been 
Working in my heart ever since! 
Mary (advancing) : 
Cast thy bread upon the waters, and thou 
Shalt find it after many days! 

Senator: 
But yours was on the moon, my dear! 

Mary: 
The moon was in the water, by virtue of 
Its broken reflection, in the parable, I sing. 

Dr. Raymond (to Irene): 
Come, my dear, while we are under 
This blessed prenatal influence, let us 
Seek the parental blessing! This kind of 
Heredity, working in your blood, suits me! 
It is a mighty tonic! 

(They both kneel before the Senator and he places 
his hands on their heads while all bow a moment in si- 
lence.) 

—13 3 — 



Senator: 
Wlhereas we had but one child, we now 
Have two! Unto us a child is born! 
Unto us a son is given! 
(Stage suddenly darkened.) 
(Kinetoscopic views: 

(1.) The angel with the flaming sword guarding 
the gate to the Garden of Eden. 

(2) The Cross. 

(3) A woman adorned as a bride for her husband, 
suddenly appears in the sky and descends to earth.) 

Curtain. 



—134— 



ACT VII. 

SCENE I. 
[Scene: Veranda at the home of the Senator in 
Chicago. The time is an indefinite number of years 
later than Act VI. The Senator is in fullness of years, 
but hale and hearty. His wife is aged accordingly.] 

(The Senator is seated, reading a newspaper.) 
(Enter Mary.) 
Mary: 
My dear, you seem to be interested 
In the news this evening. 

Senator: 
Yes; we are very much like the 
Athenians, who spent their time 
In nothing else, but either to hear 
Or tell something new. I suppose 
Man will always crave something new. 

Mary: 
Wlhere do you find that about 
The Athenians? 

Senator: 
In that wonderful monograph — the 
Acts of the Apostles. 

Mary: 
That is looked upon as old news 
These days. 

Senator: 
While we welcome the new, we should not 
Forget the old. The press today simply 
Adds another page to the annals 
Of history. All these pages are for 
Our admonition and instruction. 

Mary: 
Faith gathers up the past. Hope looks 
Forward to the future! What is the 
Relation of love to these two qualities? 

— 135— 



Senator: 
The greatest of these is love; as it lives 
And works in the present; utilizing 
The past by faith, and anticipating 
The future by hope. 

Mary: 
You admire then the faithful 
Daily reporter of the newspaper? 

Senator: 
Yes; and the enterprising publisher — 
The one representing faith-work; and 
The other the quality of hope. Out of 
These two forces is developed, the 
Love-feast or present issue of a 
Good journal. 

Mary: 
What is in the love-feast today? 

Mary: 
They say no news is good news; 
But I am distresed on account of the 
Lack of news of my friend Rouseau. 
You remember he went to Africa 
To hunt for wild game and collect 
Specimens of wild beasts? 

Mary: 
Yes. 
Senator: 
Well nothing has been heard from 
Him for a long time. The press 
Would look brighter to me, if 
It should give us some glad tidings 
Of good things concerning him. 

Mary: 
You must not be too much concerned 
About him. 

Senator: 
Love endureth all things. I am 
Wondering, whether I should test 

—136— 



Your fortitude by disclosing to you 
How deeply I feel on the subject? 

Mary: 
I hope I may not be put to 
Too severe a test. And yet we 
Have always been frank with 
Each other. 

Senator: 
I find it very difficult to 
Broach my thought to you. 

Mary: 
I am sure you have no wicked 
Purpose. 

Mary : 
What would you think, if I should 
Say that I should like to go to 
Africa? 

Mary (startled): 
To Africa? 

(Enter little grandson playing .around in rear of 
room.) 

Senator: 
I have studied how I could submit 
The idea, without causing you much 
Pain; but I see I have not been 
Very skillful about it. 

Mary: 
Do not reflect on yourself. You 
Prefaced it with great care. But 
At best the blow is severe. But 
What can be your reason? 

Senator: 
I would like to go and see 
If I can find my friend Rouseau. 

Mary: 
But you might never return! 

Senator: 
If we decide that I should go 
We will be hopeful of safe return. 

—137— 



Mary: 

Why should you imperil your life for 
Him? He was your most determined enemy, 
And defeated your political aspirations, 
Notwithstanding your devotion to your country 
As a union soldier! 

Senator: 
Political antagonism is not personal enmity. 
It is the right and duty of every man 
To stand for his political convictions. And 
So far as personal choice is concerned 
That cannot be denied to any voter. 

Mary: 
You think then that a citizen in the 
Matter of personal choice has the right 
To pass by a veteran and do what 
He wills with his own vote? 

Senator: 
Every man, who is not a proper subject 
For guardianship has the right to do 
What he will with his own. Otherwise 
He is not created in the divine image. 

Mary: 
Has Rouseau been of any special service 
To man, that man should make 
Sacrifice for him? 

Senator: 
I think the grandest idea that has entered 
This world, since the bible was formed, 
Was evolved through him! 
Mary: 
What was that? 

Senator: 
He was the first to suggest to the world 
The idea that an International police-power 
Inheres in civilization — a thought that 
Has in it the potency to banish 
War of invasion from this planet — 

—138— 



A greater work than to stay the 
Sun or moon in its course! He 
Seems to be a pioneer in international 
Evolution — a mile-stone, rough hewn 
In the outskirts of the world's peace! 

Mary: 
Is there any other service in his 
History, worthy of the plaudits 
Of mankind? 

Senator: 
He is also an advocate of the idea 
That the Golden Rule is of the essence 
Of all law, including international 
Law. These two thoughts constitute 
The only true basis of the 
Permanent peace of the sea. 

Mary: 
You are not his keeper? 

Senator: 
No; he is not under any need of 
Guardianship; and my hope is he 
Never will be. But I am his friend — 
In fact, feel friendly to all my 
Countrymen, including him; and 
I would not be worthy of the love 
That has crowned our .redded life 
If I should refuse to seek and 
Help that which may be lost or sick 
Or captive. 

Mary: 
Can a man of your age stand 
The hardship of such a trip? 

Senator: 
I am remarkably well preserved 
And my service to my day and 
Generation is not yet ended. 

Mary: 
I cannot consider this any more 

— 139— 



At this time. My heart is broken — 
I must have time to think. 

(Kisses the Senator.) 
Excuse me now, dear. We -will take 
This up again, when I can think 
More clearly. 

(She kisses the Senator again and goes out, leaving 
him with his head bowed in meditation.) 
Little Grand-son: 
Grandpa, are you going to Africa? 

Senator (taking him on his knee): 
This is a very hard part of the 
Trip — to leave my little grandson. 

Little Grand-son: 
Are you going to leave me, Grandpa? 

Senator (meditatively) : 
How many! — many! tore themselves 
From wife and baby in the days 
Of Lincoln and never returned! 
Little Grand-son: 
You will come back, Grandpa? 

Senator: 
I hope so, my dear little boy. 

Little Grand-son: 
I hope so, too, Grandpa. 

Senator (cheering up) : 
You are a good boy and you love 
Your Grandpa. ('Kisses him.) 
(Enter Irene.) 
Irene: 
Father, mamma says you are 
Contemplating a trip to Africa? 

Senator: 
I am thinking of it, my dear. 

Irene : 
How can you leave mamma and 
Baby and me? 

Senator: 
I hope to return. 

—140— 



Irene: 
But suppose our hope should be 
Disappointed? 

Senator : 
Dr. Raymond is a good son. You will 
All be in good hands. 

Irene: 
Unless he should die! 

Senator: 
In the severity and extremity 
Of this life it is a blessed thought 
That there is a God of the widow 
And the fatherless. 

Irene: 
I know you 'will be sure you 
Are right, before you take action. 
But in all your thought about it 
Remember poor mamma. 

(Starts to withdraw.) 
Senator: 
You may take this dear little boy 
With you. I want to be alone 
And think this matter over. (Kisses him.) 
(Exit Irene taking her little boy with her.) 

Senator (In deep meditation): 
How strange! passing strange, it all seems! 
To find myself the only surviving 
Member of the war for the Union! When 
I sleep in death, the Union Army 
Will be asleep! The pickets and 
Officers of the guard all in! And they, too, asleep! 
The pension roll is dusty; laid away 
Somewhere, forgotten! Not one is left 
To tell of those mighty days! Many 
Sleep on battlefields! Many returned 
And sleep at home! How soon it will all 
Be as a tale that is told! A 
Curtained scene, in the march of events! 
But their works do follow them! 

— 141 — 



If I should not return, it will 

Only be history repeating itself. The 

Spirit of that day is upon me and 

I must needs go and find my friend! 

There is a song in my heart of the brave 

Deeds of a vanishing host; 

And of a hope that all men of good will 

Will find death to be a honey-bee; 

A reunion of all that we love 

And of all that love us, in the 

Presence of the risen Christ; the only 

True object of worship that has 

Appeared in this world, or that 

Ever will be seen, throughout 

The universe of God! 

(Bows his head in silence, reverently in divine pres- 
ence, while the stage is slowly darkened ) 



—142- 



SCENE II. 
[Scene: Quarters of Rouseau in Africa. A full 
menagerie; and also a quantity of slain wild beasts and 
game. Rouseau is standing in watchful attitude 
with gun in hand. In the rear is a company of natives in 
costume with spears.) 

(Enter Sentinel.) 

Sentinel (to Rouseau): 
There is a stranger at the outpost 
That desires to see ycu. 

Rouseau: 
Is he white or black? 

Sentinel : 
White, sir! He says he is from America. 

Rouseau: 
Who can he be? Out here in the 
Heart of an African wilderness? 
Bring him in! It is a wonder 
That he has not been killed by the 
Natives, whoever he may be! (Exit Sentinel.) 
(Enter Senator.) 

Senator: 
Rouseau I have found you at last! I 
Rejoice exceedingly to find you alive 
And well! 

Rouseau (grasping him by the hand). 
Why, Senator I am surprised! Delighted! 
I wonder, dear Senator, at your 
Visit here! What could have brought you 
Into this African wilderness? 

Senator: 
We have not heard from you for 
A long time; and I thought 
You might need me. 

Rouseau: 
But how did you find the way 
Out here? 

—143— 



Senator: 
I knew that if you were in easy 
Reach of civilization, we would hear 
From you. So by a process of 
Induction and elimination, I located 
You in this region somewhere! 
And after much search and disappointment 
I have succeeded in finding you! 

Rouseau: 
Strange and wonderful man, how could 
You make such a sacrifice for one, 
Who defeated your most cherished 
Political aspirations? 

Senator: 
What is political preferment to love 
Of neighbor and friend? 
Besides I recognize the right of 
Freedom of choice! Where the 
Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty! 

Rouseau: 
But you came here at the peril 
Of your life. 

Senator: 
I bared my breast to the bayonet 
For you and such as you, when you 
Were in the cradle! If I was not 
Fanatical, then, why should I shrink now? 

Rouseau: 
And so you have come out here 
At the risk of your life for your 
Enemy? 

Senator: 
No; I am willing to die if need be. 
For my friends. No greater love nath 
Any man than this, that a man lay 
Down his life for his friends. 
The glory and honor of dying for 
Enemies, and evincing that 

—14 4 — 



Amazing degree of love, was reserved 
For the Son of God on the cross. 

Rouseau: 
You then, would die for a friend 
But not an enemy? 

Senator: 
I would love my enemy to the 
Extent of praying for him and 
Doing him all reasonable kindness! 
But would not and could not 
Emulate the cross! 

Rouseau: 
You then, count me among your 
Friends? 

Senator: 
Political differences should not breed 
Personal enmity between neighbors 
And friends. I am the only 
Surviving member of the Union Army! 
There was no enmity in their hearts 
When they came home from the war; 
And never has been! As the only 
Fragment left I must not lower 
The standard! 

Rouseau: 
Senator, my heart is broken! To think, 
That your wonderful love has led 
You into this death-trap! 

Senator: 
Why do you call this a death-trap? 

Rouseau: 
The natives have been hostile for 
A long time and cut off our 
Communication with civilization by 
Courier. We are momentarily expecting 
An attack. We have made every 
Preparation for defense, including 
A mine! 

(Sound of rushing atack.) 

— 145— 



They are coming now! Every man to his post! 

Here, Senator, is a revolver and 

A sword! But stay out of danger 

As much as possible! If 1 should 

Perish and by any chance or 

Mercy of the natives, you should 

Survive, tell the 'world that our 

Friendship was only hidden behind a cloud; 

But it was there, bright, shining as the sun! 

(The natives make a fierce assault, but by very 
rapid firing are prevented from entering and finally re- 
pelled. At the moment of victory a crazed native, with 
spear in hand, rushes in from the rear, upon Rouseau, 
who is ignorant of his danger. The Senator rushes in 
between him and his assailant and is mortally wounded. 
The native flees and escapes as the Senator falls.) 
Rouseau: 
(Easing the Senator with a pillow of pelts.) 
Senator, are you badly hurt? 

Senator: 
Yes; the 'wound is fatal. 

Rouseau (in agitation) : 
Where are you hurt, Senator? 

Senator: 
Here in my side! I feel very faint, Rouseau! 

Rouseau (opening his vesture): 
May be it is not fatal, Senator! 

(Explosion of mine.) 
Senator (aroused by the noise): 
What was that? 

Rouseau: 
Our mine has exploded and completely 
Scattered the attacking party! 

Senator (smiling): 
I thought I was dreaming of Petersburg. 
Rouseau (examining the wound): 
Senator, this an hour of great national 
Bereavement and precious legacy! 

— 146 — 



Senator (dreamily): 
The army is falling asleep. 
Rouseau: 
Is there nothing I can do for you? 

Senator (rousing in dying throes): 
Wire this message to my wife, Rouseau! She 
Will understand and be comforted! 
The sun has set! The moon has gone down! 
And the Union Army is at rest! 
But the stars are shining forever! And 
Among them is the bright and morning star! 
(Smiles in his transition as a mother comforting 
her child.) 

Curtain. 
The end of Act VII and of the Drama. 



—147- 



tfOV 6 1»09 



T OR TO CAT 01 

NOV 18 19i 



